Two truck drivers were shot dead and their vehicle set ablaze by unidentified gunmen at Ogi Junction in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State on Saturday.
Officials from the Imo State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) confirmed the attack, which occurred around 10:30 am.
Dahiru Musa, chairman of the NURTW in Okigwe, said that security agencies, including the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Okigwe, were promptly notified.
Narrating the incident, Musa said, “Suspected Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members blocked the road and opened fire on them on Saturday.”
“They burnt the truck, which was fully loaded with gari, and the corpses.”
He further explained that shortly after the attack, he contacted security forces.
“The soldiers and DPO of Okigwe have visited the scene of the incident. The police and I evacuated the bodies to a hospital, and on Monday, we offered them funeral prayers and buried them,” he added.
Mahmud Jafaru, spokesperson for the NURTW Heavy Truck section at Laranto Motor Park in Jos, also spoke on the matter.
He stated that the truck was en route to Port Harcourt when the attackers struck.
The drivers, identified as Haruna Muhammad and Adamu Ibrahim, had loaded gari from Ayangade for delivery in Port Harcourt.
“The drivers loaded gari from Ayangade to Port Harcourt when the gunmen killed them in broad daylight. This is one too many. Drivers from the North have become valued less than human beings,” Jafaru said.
He went on to express frustration over what he perceives as a lack of response from authorities.
“They are killed at will. As long as you are a driver from the North, you don’t have rest of mind until you get to Port Harcourt, and the government and security forces seem to do nothing about it,” he lamented.
Jafaru urged the government to take decisive steps to curb the violence, pointing out that many lives have been lost and trucks worth millions of naira destroyed.
Efforts to get a response from Henry Okoye, spokesperson for the Imo State Police Command, were unsuccessful as he did not respond to inquiries as at press time.
Daily Trust recalls that on March 2, 2025, truck drivers and owners transporting goods from the North to the South East protested in Jos over recurring attacks.
