HUNDREDS of travellers were left stranded for hours on Friday morning along the Maiduguri–Damaturu Highway, following a late-night Boko Haram attack on a military base near Ngamdu, a strategic town less than 50 kilometres from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.
News Point Nigeria reports that the incident, which occurred late Thursday night, forced the Nigerian military to temporarily shut down the busy highway, a crucial link between Borno and Yobe states and one of the most vital economic and humanitarian corridors in the insurgency-ravaged North-East.
Eyewitnesses and motorists told News Point Nigeria that the attack led to heavy gunfire and explosions around the Ngamdu axis, prompting soldiers to seal off the road from both ends to prevent civilian casualties and possible ambushes.
“We have been stranded since the early hours of Friday. The road is completely blocked by the military. Hundreds of vehicles are lined up from Damaturu to as far as Mainok,” said a stranded traveller, Malam Usman Garba, who was heading to Maiduguri.
“No one is allowed to move, and everyone is tense. We could still hear distant gunfire around midnight,” he added via phone.
Another traveller, Aisha Mohammed, who was on her way from Maiduguri to Potiskum, said many women and children were in distress as vehicles ran out of water and food.
“We slept inside the vehicles. Some people were crying because of fear. We just want to get to safety,” she said.
Military sources confirmed to News Point Nigeria that the attack targeted the Ngamdu Military Super Camp, one of the forward operational bases established to secure the highway and suppress insurgent movement between Borno and Yobe.
The insurgents, believed to be from a faction of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), reportedly launched a surprise assault using gun trucks and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) around 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Security sources said the soldiers at the camp repelled the attack after a fierce gun battle that lasted more than an hour, forcing the insurgents to retreat into the surrounding bush.
A senior military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said the closure of the road was a preventive measure to secure the area and clear potential IEDs planted along the route.
“The road closure is temporary. Our troops are conducting clearance operations to ensure there are no explosives or ambushes before reopening the highway,” the officer explained.
The Maiduguri–Damaturu Highway, which serves as the only safe access road to Borno State is notorious for occasional ambushes and insurgent raids, despite improved security in recent months.
The highway has remained the lifeline for humanitarian convoys, traders, and civil servants commuting between Yobe and Borno, both of which have been epicentres of the 15-year-long Boko Haram insurgency that has claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced millions.
By Friday afternoon, sources said the military had begun a controlled reopening of the route, but many travellers were still cautious, waiting for confirmation that the area was fully secured.
The Borno State Government and Yobe State Government have yet to issue official statements, though residents and community leaders have appealed for stronger patrol presence and improved early warning systems to prevent similar disruptions.
“This road is our only link to the outside world,” said Alhaji Bukar Kyari, a Maiduguri-based transporter. “Any attack here paralyzes everything, trade, travel, even access to food and medicine.”