Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
In a tragedy that has shaken the collective conscience of a nation already numb from endless bloodshed, a man who was simply trying to bury his father was killed before he could reach the graveside. Jamilu Isah Modawa was travelling from Abuja to Sokoto State to attend his father's burial when bandits opened fire on his vehicle along the Shinkafi–Isa road, striking him near Gadilar Sule Ishsha, less than two kilometres from Isa town. He died on the road he had travelled in grief, his journey to honour his father ending in his own violent death.
The attack occurred on Thursday, October 1, 2026, when armed men, operating with the impunity that has become their trademark across Nigeria's North-West, intercepted the vehicle and opened fire. Jamilu was hit. He did not survive. His body was left on the roadside, a testament to the cruelty of men who have turned the nation's highways into killing fields. The details of what happened to the other occupants of the vehicle remain unclear as of the time of this report. What is painfully clear is that a family that had already suffered the loss of its patriarch was now forced to contend with a second tragedy, a son killed while travelling to honour the memory of his father.
The Shinkafi–Isa road, where Jamilu was killed, is part of a vast network of highways across Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina states that have become the most dangerous roads in Nigeria. Motorists traverse these routes with trembling hands and anxious hearts, never knowing whether the next bend will bring an ambush, a hail of bullets, or a trip into the bush as a captive. The gunmen who operate in these forests and scrublands have perfected a grim choreography. They mount roadblocks, shoot at vehicles, abduct travellers for ransom, and disappear into the wilderness before security forces can respond. Their impunity is absolute because they know the roads are vast, the response times are slow, and the consequences for them are virtually nil.
Jamilu's killing is the latest in a staggering toll of road ambushes that have claimed hundreds of lives in 2026 alone. In September, at least 14 people were killed and 15 abducted in separate attacks on the Gusau–Funtua and Shinkafi–Gusau roads in Zamfara and Sokoto states. A pregnant woman was among those abducted. Police tactical teams engaged the bandits in gun battles, killing 17, but the victims had already suffered. Earlier in the year, the Nigerian Army rescued 41 travellers, including women and children, who were stranded on a highway in Zamfara when bandits attempted to abduct them. The rescue operations are successes, but they are reactive. They do not prevent the attacks. They do not protect the travellers who set out on those roads every day.
For the family of Jamilu Isah Modawa, the pain is almost too cruel to process. They lost a father. Now they have lost a son. The burial they were preparing for has become a double funeral. The road that should have brought them closure has brought them a second, shattering blow. The question that hangs in the air, as it has hung after every such killing, is simple: how many more lives must be put at risk on our roads before this nightmare finally ends? How many more sons must die travelling to bury their fathers before the government finds the will to secure the highways? The answer, for now, is silence. The roads remain dangerous. The bandits remain at large. And the families of the dead remain left to mourn, waiting for a protection that never comes.
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