Death on the Damaturu–Biu Highway: Over 120 Killed as Neglected Road Deepens Northeast Crisis

Death on the Damaturu–Biu Highway: Over 120 Killed as Neglected Road Deepens Northeast Crisis

By Njadvara Musa, Damaturu

At least 120 lives were lost in 2025 alone along the 130-kilometre Damaturu–Buni Yadi–Biu federal highway, as motorists and passengers continued to navigate what many now describe as one of the most dangerous roads in Nigeria’s Northeast.

The ageing road, constructed by the Federal Government in the 1980s, cuts across Yobe State and Borno State, linking several communities and serving as a critical economic corridor. But decades of neglect have turned it into a corridor of tragedy.

Drivers and commuters who ply the route daily say the 45-year-old highway has remained in a deplorable state for over three decades, with deep potholes, eroded shoulders and washed-off portions posing constant danger.

Confirming the situation during an inspection in Buni Yadi over the weekend, the Yobe State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Andrew Longkam, revealed that although interventions were made in 2023 and 2024 to patch potholes and repair damaged sections, accidents only dropped by 25 per cent in 2025.

“The rate of auto crashes along this road reduced by only 25 per cent in 2025, despite the filling up of multiple potholes and repairs carried out in previous years,” he stated, underscoring the limited impact of temporary fixes.

For victims and survivors, the statistics represent painful realities.

Malam Audu Musa (name changed), who survived a ghastly crash in July 2025, lamented that the road’s poor condition has compounded insecurity in the region. According to him, as military counter-terrorism operations continue, the deteriorated highway has become a soft target for armed groups.

He alleged that insurgents exploit the slow-moving traffic and stranded vehicles to carry out kidnappings and deadly attacks along the Damaturu–Biu axis, a development he said has persisted since the insurgency escalated in 2009.

Journalists who recently accompanied Nigerian troops on a media tour of the route described scenes of despair—vehicles trapped in craters, commuters waiting anxiously by the roadside, and long stretches of broken asphalt stretching toward the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, a known hideout of insurgent groups.

Passengers say the fear of attacks now competes with the risk of fatal crashes.

Hajiya Fatima Ya’u, who was travelling from Damaturu to Gombe, said economic hardship forces many commuters to use the dangerous route.

“This road is very bad,” she said. “I had to travel this way because I cannot afford the longer and safer route through Potiskum and Darazo in Bauchi State.”

She appealed passionately to both federal and state authorities to prioritise a full reconstruction of the highway before the end of 2026.

“We are begging the government to rebuild this road. “We have lost too many lives,” she continued.

Another commuter, Abdullahi Umar, who frequently travels the 66-kilometer stretch between Buni, Gari, and Biu, described the road as both indispensable and unbearable.

“This is the only route I know. It is a key logistics corridor for transporting farm produce from rural communities to major markets like Damaturu,” he explained. “It connects Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Adamawa and Taraba states, helping to reduce transport costs. But the suffering on this road has lasted for decades.”

Despite the risks, many residents say they have no alternative. Farmers, traders and small-scale transporters, abandoning the route is simply not an option.

Stakeholders warn that beyond the tragic loss of over 120 lives in one year, the continued neglect of the Damaturu–Buni Yadi–Biu road threatens economic recovery, undermines security efforts and deepens humanitarian challenges in Nigeria’s conflict-affected Northeast.

As calls grow louder for urgent federal intervention, commuters insist that temporary patchwork is no longer enough. What they demand is a complete overhaul — before more lives are claimed on a highway they say has become a death trap.