By Musa Ubandawaki, SOKOTO
Zamfara State was thrown into deep mourning on Thursday after deadly explosions, suspected to be from improvised explosive devices, IEDs, tore through the Magami-Dansadau Highway, killing at least 10 innocent travellers and shattering families in an instant.
The tragedy unfolded between Maikogo and Mai Aya-Aya villages, a busy rural corridor relied upon daily by traders, farmers, and commuters moving between Magami and Dansadau. What began as an ordinary journey quickly turned into a road of death.
An eyewitness, Mallam Yunusa, said travellers had earlier sensed danger when motorists fleeing from the direction of Dansadau warned others to stop their movement.
Moments later, a thunderous explosion ripped through the road, followed by two more blasts in quick succession.
According to him, the first explosion struck a trailer conveying grains, instantly killing four occupants and scattering wreckage across the highway. Panic engulfed the area as travellers screamed and ran for cover.
In the chaos, Yunusa said a woman who jumped from the trailer in a desperate attempt to escape was crushed to death, her fate sealing the horror of the moment.
“Confusion took over everywhere,” he recalled. “People were panicking and running. The explosions came three times, one after the other.”
The second and third blasts claimed additional lives, bridging the death toll to 10, with fears that more victims may yet be discovered.
Residents and survivors strongly suspect the explosives were planted by armed bandits who have long terrorised the Magami–Dansadau axis, turning vital roads into deadly traps for civilians.
The blasts triggered mass panic, forcing motorists to abandon their vehicles while others fled into nearby bushes, unsure if more explosives lay hidden in the road.
Security operatives later moved into the area, cordoning off the scene, combing surrounding communities, and launching a manhunt for suspected perpetrators believed to be operating in nearby forests.
The Zamfara State Police Command confirmed the incident, describing it as a grave security breach. Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the state had been placed on high alert, with intensified patrols and ongoing investigations.
Beyond the immediate loss of lives, the attack has reopened painful national conversations about the growing use of landmines and roadside bombs by criminal groups tactics that increasingly target civilians rather than combatants.
For families along the Magami–Dansadau road, grief now walks hand-in-hand with fear. Their simple prayer is that no other journey will end in blood, and that the roads meant to unite their communities will no longer be paths to untimely graves.
