Thousands of civil servants and artisans are currently stranded on the ever busy Abuja-Keffi road as operatives of the Nigerian Army mounted roadblocks against commercial and private commuters.
Workers who left homes as early as 5 am for their respective workplaces are trapped inside their vehicles as at 10:20 am when our reporter visited the logjam.
Tribune Online observed that the chaotic situation has forced several people to abandon their vehicles to trek several kilometres in order to meet up with appointments.
It was noted that the road was blocked at the Kugbo mechanic village section of the Abuja axis.
Jack Kuku complained that “I have been here since 7 am, the fuel I bought for the journey is almost finished now.”
Sarah Yemisi said, “I have a meeting by 10 am but I have been here for the past two hours, I’m not sure I will make it, and there is no way to turn back.”
Stephen Goddey who was taking his daughter to school complained that “She is already late, and traffic situation is just not improving, it’s already 11 am, we can’t turn back and we are not moving forward as well, it’s tiring.”
Right there in the logjam, a bus belonging to Abuja Bus Mass Transit Transport Company Limited hit a car from behind, the owner of a Toyota Camry stopped right in front of the bus, and that was how another one hour of extended traffic gridlock started for the passengers of the bus.
The driver of the bashed Toyota Camry, Mathew Baba told Tribune Online that “One military man bashed me and he had to surrender his identity card to me before I let him go so that he could not deny me, this driver too must surrender his driver’s license.”
Joy Elizabeth Udoh-Emem, a cook who works for a fast-food restaurant in Wuse was trekking home back to Ardo when she told Tribune Online that, “It’s already 12, I have called my office and told them that I can’t make it because we run shifts.”
One lady who simply gave her name as Esther was lamenting, on inquiry, she volunteered the information that while hustling to get into a vehicle to go into the city, someone unzipped her bag in the process and removed her purse, that had in money and other valuables like ATM cards and identity cards.
No reason has yet been offered for the return of roadblock against traffic that was suspended for more than two years now, but the same roadblocks were mounted by the military on October 1st probably to guide against security breakdown during the 61st Independence anniversary.
Most of the commercial drivers who spoke with Tribune Online lamented the sudden return of the military on the road and pleaded with government authorities to look into their plights.
One coaster bus driver, Jay Jay Umeh, lamented that “This is my first trip of the day and I’m still here in Nyanya by this time, my fuel is wasting, the government needs to help us and remove this roadblock because we are already suffering.”
At the time of filing this report, the long queues of vehicles that started at Kugbo mechanic village had reached Masaka near Keffi in neighbouring Nasarawa State.
Expectedly, okada motorcycle riders have been making brisk business charging as much as N1000 to convey a passenger to Kugbo.
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Chaos on Abuja-Keffi road as Army roadblock causes traffic gridlock. Chaos on Abuja-Keffi road as Army roadblock causes traffic gridlock.
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