It was a nightmarish experience, yesterday, for commuters and motorists travelling through Abuja-Lokoja Road to various destinations for the Eid el Kabir holiday.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who left Abuja at 7 am, did not arrive at Abaji, in the Federal Capital Territory, until 2pm, a journey of one hour on a normal occasion.
A combined team of soldiers, police, and civil defence and road safety corps worked hard to clear the bottleneck at Gwagwalada, also in the capital territory, earlier in the day.
It is not clear what caused the gridlock at Abaji, but motorists blamed it on the security checkpoint in the area, manned by soldiers.
The checkpoint has been in existence for several months and has disrupted traffic flow especially on holidays when the volume of traffic is usually high, coupled with impatience exhibited by many drivers.
While some motorists called for a speedy completion of the dual carriageway, others said security agencies at the checkpoint should not delay motorists unnecessarily.
A civil servant, Mrs Esther Nwafor, travelling to Lagos, called on the government to find a lasting solution to the problem on the highway.
"It is surprising that the expansion of the road is taking too long considering its importance as a major link between the northern part and the southern part of the country," she said.
Another traveller caught in the tangle, Mr. Timothy Olaoye, said motorists should exercise patience instead of driving against traffic or jumping the queue.
Meanwhile, hawkers around the area had a field day selling food and drinks.
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