Three broken-down trucks on Rijana Bridge on Monday caused a major traffic gridlock on the Kaduna-Abuja highway, leaving hundreds of motorists and travellers stranded for several hours.
The congestion reportedly stretched from Akilibu to Gidan Busa. A commercial driver, who identified himself simply as Bala, told our correspondent that he spent almost three hours in the traffic before he was able to continue his journey.
‘Honestly, the situation was very frustrating. I have just come out of the traffic after spending more than three hours on the road. We were told that some vehicles broke down in the middle of the road around 2am on Monday.
‘Although efforts had been made to remove the trucks before I left, motorists had already spent several hours stranded. Traffic has now started moving slowly as road repairs are ongoing,’ he said.
Another resident of Katari, Danjuma Katari, said the congestion extended from Akilibu to Gidan Busa, adding that motorists were still experiencing difficulties as of 5pm on Monday.
‘The trailers are now moving slowly, but there is still traffic congestion as we speak,’ he said.
Our correspondent observed that trucks conveying livestock and lorries loaded with goods were stranded, while smaller vehicles struggled to navigate through available spaces.
Some stranded travellers and youths were also seen standing by the roadside as officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) made efforts to clear the obstruction.
Some of the animals, which were tightly packed inside the trucks, appeared exhausted.
A commuter, Reuben Buhari, who shared his experience on Facebook, said he spent eight hours in the gridlock.
‘This is the Abuja-Kaduna road today (Monday). We spent eight hours before reaching Abuja, and we were lucky to be in a small car. One thing I can say for sure is that a lot of people will spend the night on this road, especially the tanker and trailer drivers.
‘Unless we Nigerians, including me, learn to obey traffic rules even when no officer is watching, to be patient and to be orderly, traffic chaos like this will keep occurring,’ he said.
Another motorist, Aliyu Abu, blamed the situation partly on motorists’ impatience, saying greater discipline and patience would have eased traffic movement.
Sarah Monday, a fashion designer travelling to Abuja for a contract meeting, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that she lost the meeting due to the standstill.
She appealed to the Federal Government to complete the highway soon, so that the hardship faced by its users would be reduced, especially during Salah, Christmas and other festive periods.
FRSC removes two trucks
The FRSC Sector Commander, Andrew Paul Longkam, who confirmed the obstruction, said the corps had succeeded in removing two of the trucks.
‘Our team was able to remove two of the trucks from the road. As we speak, the report I am receiving indicates that traffic is flowing and the situation is gradually returning to normal,’ he said.
Longkam attributed the severity of the gridlock partly to ongoing road construction, which leaves only one lane open to motorists.
He explained that even a minor obstruction could result in serious congestion because of the limited space available to vehicles.
The sector commander also identified the high volume of vehicles on the highway as another contributing factor, adding that many of them were believed to be travelling to Jigawa State for a political campaign.
As of the time of filing this report, patience had begun to run out. Many motorists had started turning back towards Kaduna, with a lot of them saying they would travel to Abuja through the Kachia-Bwari road instead.
Recurring gridlock on highway
The Kaduna-Abuja highway is one of the major transport corridors in northern Nigeria, linking the Federal Capital Territory with Kaduna and providing access to other parts of the North-West.
The road carries thousands of commuters, commercial vehicles, articulated trucks and fuel tankers daily, making any obstruction a major challenge for travellers.
The Katari-Jere stretch, in particular, has become a recurring congestion point, with ongoing construction activities narrowing some sections and forcing motorists to navigate restricted passages and diversions.
A breakdown or accident involving a heavy-duty vehicle under such conditions can quickly obstruct the available carriageway and trigger long queues.
The latest incident is among several traffic gridlocks recorded on the Kaduna-Abuja highway this year, with road construction, accidents involving heavy-duty vehicles and poor driving habits repeatedly identified as major causes.
On January 4, 2026, motorists experienced congestion between Greenville and Obasanjo Farm following increased vehicular movement after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The FRSC attributed the situation to the resumption of road construction, the closure of some diversions, motorists’ impatience and lack of lane discipline.
Similarly, between May 24 and 26, thousands of travellers were reportedly stranded along the Jere, Katari and Azara axis during the Eid-el-Kabir travel rush, with some spending between six and 20 hours on the road.
The congestion was attributed to ongoing reconstruction, rainfall, an accident, heavy vehicular movement and dangerous overtaking.
On August 22, motorists also experienced heavy congestion around Kateri, Jere and Zuba in both directions, prompting the deployment of FRSC personnel and soldiers to manage the traffic.
Expert seeks truck movement restrictions, emergency response stations
A road safety expert, Munkaila Sulaiman, has called on the federal government to restrict the movement of articulated vehicles during peak traffic periods, establish emergency response stations and accelerate the reconstruction of the Kaduna-Abuja highway to end the persistent gridlock on the route.
Sulaiman, who is a retired road safety officer said the recurring congestion required more than temporary deployment of traffic personnel, urging the government to adopt a comprehensive traffic management strategy that would address the root causes of the problem.
‘The Kaduna-Abuja highway gridlock should no longer be treated as an ordinary traffic inconvenience. It is a major transportation, economic and public safety challenge that requires urgent and coordinated intervention,’ he said.
He identified prolonged road construction, poorly managed diversions, broken-down heavy-duty vehicles, road crashes, reckless driving and inadequate emergency response as some of the factors contributing to the congestion.
According to him, the Katari-Jere-Zuba corridor, particularly around construction diversion points, requires urgent attention because restricted traffic passages and the movement of heavy-duty vehicles could worsen the situation.
‘The authorities must first identify the major points responsible for the congestion instead of relying on assumptions. We need a comprehensive traffic assessment to establish the specific challenges at different locations along the highway,’ he said.
The expert urged the Federal Ministry of Works to review the performance of contractors handling the highway and enforce agreed completion deadlines, saying prolonged construction had created bottlenecks that exposed motorists to unnecessary hardship.
He said construction should be carried out in properly coordinated phases, with completed sections opened to traffic and alternative passages provided before existing lanes were closed.
‘Road construction should not become an excuse for exposing motorists to unnecessary risks. Government must ensure that contractors provide safe alternative passages, clear road markings, reflective signs and adequate lighting at diversion points,’ he said.
On the movement of articulated vehicles, the expert proposed designated movement periods, particularly during peak passenger traffic hours, as well as designated parking and holding areas along the corridor.
‘A truck breaking down at a narrow diversion can bring traffic movement to a complete standstill for several hours. We must introduce a proper management system for articulated vehicles and ensure that recovery trucks are available at strategic locations,’ he said.
He also called for regular mechanical inspections of heavy-duty vehicles, adding that any restriction on their movement should be based on traffic studies and coordinated with freight operators.