Soldiers from the Zuma army barracks in Suleja town, Niger State, have reopened the Abuja-Kaduna highway for motorists after it was grounded for about five hours by protesters.

An Abuja resident, Abubakar Ibrahim who was travelling to his home state in Kaduna, said the security men dislodged the protesters around 3:30 pm Thursday.

Ibrahim, who arrived at the blocked spot in a commercial vehicle around 10 am, added that the road block was removed after an army officer in mufty was denied passage along with his convoy.

"He made a U-turn in anger, and after some moments, a team of soldiers stomed the road block mountained on the highway. The soldiers fired gunshots into the air, forcing the protesters to run away," Ibrahim disclosed.

It was further learnt that an elderly person who was being taken to the hospital but stranded at the spot, reportedly lost his life in the gridlock that extended to the Nana oil and Suleja junction, along the way.