By Parrot Newspaper 
Protest in Jos Over Killing of Truck Drivers in South East
By Parrot Newspaper
The streets of Jos, Plateau State, were filled with tension yesterday as truck drivers and owners staged a massive protest against the continuous attacks and killings of their members in the South East region. The demonstrators, operating under the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) (Heavy Trucks), expressed their outrage over what they described as targeted killings and destruction of their vehicles by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
With placards bearing inscriptions such as “Stop killing northern drivers,” “Tinubu should protect our members,” and “Enough of burning and destruction of our trucks in the South East,” the protesters voiced their grievances, warning that they might suspend transporting goods to the region if the violence persists.
A Pattern of Deadly Attacks
According to Mahmud Jafar, the leader of the protesting truck drivers, the unprovoked attacks have escalated over the past eight years. He lamented that more than 50 drivers had been killed, many others were missing, and hundreds of trucks had either been destroyed or stolen.
“For the past eight years, truck drivers from northern Nigeria have been consistently targeted, killed, and had their trucks burned while transporting goods to the South East,” Jafar said. “We are still trying to understand what crime we have committed to deserve this kind of barbaric killing.”
Jafar provided chilling details of recent attacks, including one that occurred on January 28, 2025, when four truck drivers—Haruna Jibril, Bala Muhammad, Dalladi Jafaru, and Auwal Muhammad—were killed while transporting tomatoes to Port Harcourt. Their trucks were reportedly hijacked along the Lopanta-Umuahia route in Abia State, and the perpetrators later sent videos of the empty trucks to the owners, confirming that the drivers had been killed. Efforts to retrieve their bodies have so far yielded no results.
In another tragic incident just a day before the protest, suspected IPOB members opened fire on a truck carrying perishable goods at Four Corner, Nkanu West LGA, Enugu State. Fortunately, the driver and his assistants escaped with their lives. However, their truck was significantly damaged, highlighting the severity of the dangers truck drivers face in the region.
Economic Implications and Calls for Government Intervention
The continued attacks on northern truck drivers have raised serious concerns about national security and economic stability. The threat of a boycott by truck drivers could lead to severe shortages of essential goods such as food, livestock, and raw materials in the South East, potentially triggering inflation and worsening economic conditions in the region.
The Chairman of NURTW, Laranto Branch, Hassan Shitu, emphasized the drivers’ frustration and called on the government to take urgent action.
“Our challenge is that we live in the North, but we find it difficult to operate in the East. They beat our drivers, damage our vehicles without any provocation. Just recently, they seized our truck, and the drivers are nowhere to be found. We are pleading with the government to look into this situation,” Shitu stated.
Truck owners echoed similar concerns, describing the situation as a threat to national security. They demanded an urgent federal government probe into the killings and destruction of their vehicles.