The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has bemoaned the worsening condition of major federal highways linking the South-East to other parts of the country, saying the decay has subjected thousands of travellers, particularly Ndigbo returning home for the Yuletide, to days of hardship, gridlock and physical exhaustion.

The rights group spoke against the backdrop of viral videos showing massive traffic congestion on the Lagos-Benin-Onitsha Expressway and the Abuja-Lokoja Road, where motorists and passengers were stranded for several hours and, in many cases, forced to sleep on the highways due to the near-total collapse of road infrastructure.

HURIWA noted that the affected roads are among the most critical economic and social corridors in Nigeria, serving as major gateways between the South-West, North-Central and South-East regions. According to the organisation, the persistent failure of these highways during a peak travel period underscores what it described as years of systemic neglect of federal infrastructure, with particularly grave consequences for the South-East.

The association said it received multiple reports of families, traders and commercial drivers spending two to three days on journeys that should ordinarily last a few hours, adding that the situation has disrupted economic activities, endangered lives and inflicted avoidable trauma on citizens attempting to reunite with loved ones for Christmas and the New Year.

HURIWA argued that the recurrent gridlock and road collapse contradict official claims by the Federal Ministry of Works that massive investments have been made in road rehabilitation across the country. The group recalled that within the last two years, the Federal Government announced the release of trillions of naira for road infrastructure, including funds earmarked for major highways and palliative interventions nationwide.

According to HURIWA, the Ministry of Works had, at different times, disclosed that over ?2 trillion had been released or committed to federal road projects since the current administration came into office, with hundreds of projects reportedly completed or ongoing. However, the organisation said the reality on the ground raises serious questions about the utilisation of those funds.

It asked where the trillions of naira reportedly released for road infrastructure were kept or expended, given that many federal highways across the country remain in an advanced state of disrepair. HURIWA maintained that the Lagos-Benin-Onitsha Expressway and Abuja-Lokoja Road, in particular, have become symbols of infrastructural failure and poor project execution.

The group also questioned the silence of anti-corruption agencies, insisting that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) should urgently begin probing procurement processes, contract awards and project execution within the Ministry of Works.

HURIWA said the visible collapse of federal roads across Nigeria provides sufficient grounds for investigators to scrutinise the roles of procurement officers, contractors and supervising officials, including ministers, with a view to recovering public funds allegedly wasted on failed or abandoned projects.

While acknowledging recent public admissions by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, that conditions on some federal roads were embarrassing, HURIWA said such acknowledgements were insufficient without concrete improvements on the ground. The group described the minister’s performance as disappointing and argued that the scale of infrastructural failure has exposed a lack of effective leadership within the ministry.

The organisation called for urgent remedial action, including emergency rehabilitation of the Lagos-Benin-Onitsha and Abuja-Lokoja corridors to ease traffic congestion and prevent further suffering. It also demanded a comprehensive audit of all federal road projects executed or awarded in the last two years.

HURIWA further urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to overhaul the leadership of the Ministry of Works, including the removal of the minister, as part of broader efforts to restore public confidence in the government’s infrastructure agenda.

According to the group, the continued neglect of federal roads not only undermines national cohesion but also reinforces perceptions of inequality and marginalisation, especially in regions like the South-East that depend heavily on these corridors for mobility and commerce.

The association warned that unless urgent and transparent steps are taken to fix the roads and hold those responsible to account, the recurring Yuletide suffering of Nigerians on federal highways may become a permanent feature of the country’s infrastructure landscape.