An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated in the early hours of Wednesday along the Gusau–Funtua highway in Zamfara State, damaging a cement-laden trailer and causing significant traffic disruption.
The explosion occurred near Unguwar Mai Chida village as the truck was travelling from Sokoto to Kaduna. Local sources said the device, suspected to have been planted by terrorists, went off as the vehicle passed through the area, severely damaging the truck’s cab.
Despite the impact, no fatalities were recorded. The driver, identified as Dauda Adamu, was rescued alive.
A resident, Samaila, said the blast came just hours after a joint team of police and military personnel cleared and reopened the Kucheri–Danjibga–Keta road in Tsafe Local Government Area, which had remained inaccessible for more than a month due to planted explosives.
According to him, security operatives faced resistance during the clearance operation, leading to a prolonged exchange of gunfire.
He suggested the IED that struck the trailer may have been among devices originally planted to target security forces.
Another eyewitness, Lawali, a commercial driver, said he and other motorists helped rescue the injured driver from the wreckage. He described the explosion as deafening, triggering panic among road users, many of whom parked at a safe distance until security personnel arrived to cordon off and clear the highway.
“Many drivers stopped and watched from afar until the military and other security personnel arrived to secure and clear the road,” Lawali said.
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview, the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit had been deployed to the scene.
The incident comes days after a Nigerian Army Armoured Personnel Carrier struck a planted explosive device along the Keta–Danjibga road in Tsafe Local Government Area.
