Two truck drivers were brutally killed and their vehicle set ablaze in Okigwe, Imo State, by suspected IPOB gunmen on Saturday.
The tragic attack has sparked outrage, highlighting rising threats to Northern transporters and growing calls for urgent government action.
A horrifying attack on Saturday claimed the lives of two truck drivers in the Ogi Junction area of Okigwe Local Government Area in Imo State, as unidentified gunmen ambushed and murdered the drivers before setting their vehicle on fire.
The Imo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) confirmed the incident, which occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. Eyewitnesses and union officials said the assailants, believed to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), blocked the road and opened fire on the unsuspecting drivers.
Chairman of the NURTW in Okigwe, Dahiru Musa, spoke to journalists and gave a detailed account of the tragic event. According to Musa, the attackers not only killed the drivers but also set the truck ablaze, which was fully loaded with garri a common West African food staple along with the remains of the victims.
“The gunmen struck without warning. They blocked the road and started shooting at the truck. After killing the drivers, they set the vehicle on fire, including the corpses inside,” Musa recounted with deep sorrow.
He said the union quickly reached out to security operatives after the attack. “We informed the soldiers and the Divisional Police Officer of Okigwe. They visited the scene, and with their assistance, we recovered the bodies,” he said. “We took the corpses to a hospital, and on Monday, we offered funeral prayers and buried them in line with Islamic rites.”
Mahmud Jafaru, the spokesperson for the NURTW’s Heavy Truck unit at Laranto Motor Park in Jos, Plateau State, also addressed the media. He identified the slain drivers as Haruna Muhammad and Adamu Ibrahim, who were transporting a consignment of gari from Ayangade to Port Harcourt when they met their untimely death.
Jafaru expressed growing frustration over the continued targeting of Northern drivers traveling through the South East. He described the situation as alarming and emotionally draining for truck drivers, who are now forced to operate under constant fear.
“The incident is deeply disturbing. These drivers were simply doing their jobs. They were transporting food to Port Harcourt when they were brutally killed. This is becoming far too common,” Jafaru lamented. “It feels like Northern drivers are no longer seen as human beings. They are murdered in cold blood, and nobody is held accountable.”
He also condemned what he sees as the government’s inadequate response to these recurring attacks. “There’s barely any meaningful intervention. Northern drivers remain exposed and unprotected. The government must act now before more lives and property are lost,” he said.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Imo State Police Command were unsuccessful. Repeated attempts to reach the police spokesperson, Henry Okoye, yielded no response.
This tragic incident has once again brought attention to the growing insecurity faced by transporters, especially those conveying goods from Northern Nigeria to the South East. On March 2, 2025, a group of truck drivers and transport company owners staged a protest in Jos, decrying the frequent killings and destruction of their vehicles. They claimed that several of these attacks were allegedly carried out by IPOB sympathizers, and urged both federal and state governments to urgently intervene.
As the country continues to battle a range of security challenges, the latest attack underscores the dangers confronting those working in the haulage and logistics sector, especially those whose routes cut across volatile regions. Many now wonder how long it will take for meaningful steps to be taken to stop the bloodshed.
