An explosion killed multiple travellers along a road in northwest Nigeria on Friday, in what a local news outlets reported as “the third incident in less than a week”.
The explosion occurred between Dansadau to Malele road in Zamfara state, causing significant damage.
A truck vehicle conveying about 100 bags of grains and passengers to Dansadau market hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the route, resulting in a devastating explosion, Channels Television reported, citing residents.
Authorities and locals have yet to confirm the exact number of casualties, but residents said several travellers killed during the blast.
“Till now, we are yet to confirm the exact number of people killed, we are waiting for the people from Malele community to give us the actual figures,” one of the sources said.
“The incident happened around 8:30 am, the distance between the scene of the explosion to Dansadau is just few kilometres.”
The source added that the second explosive planted by the terrorists was discovered by troops who defused it.
“The soldiers who rushed to the scene of the bomb discovered another bomb that was yet to detonate, they used their machine to check and took it inside the bush to defuse it,” the resident stated.
The recurring blasts have heightened fears among residents and commuters, who now consider the highway a death trap.
Just two days ago, a similar incident claimed the lives of six persons, sparking widespread calls for urgent government intervention.
The police authorities in the state had earlier accused a newly formed terrorist group Lakurawa as the mastermind of the recent explosions that occurred along the Dansadau-Gusau Road.
Insecurity and violence in Nigeria
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
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