FRSC Activates Traffic Diversions on Abuja–Kaduna Highway as Massive Sallah Rush and Road Construction Triggers Crippling Gridlock

Motorists embarking on northern transit for the upcoming holiday have been hit by an immediate operational slowdown. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has officially opened a travel diversion protocol along the Abuja–Kaduna Highway, warning that a combination of holiday traffic and civil construction blocks has pushed the critical interstate corridor into severe gridlock.

The emergency advisory, pushed via the corps’ official communications portal, singles out the Nasarawa–Azara axis specifically the transit lines stretching between Katari and Jere towns as the ultimate zone of friction. In addition to heavy machines occupying parts of the road for rehabilitation works, traffic commanders reported that the slowdown has been completely worsened by reckless commercial drivers engaging in dangerous overtaking and driving against traffic.

To protect commuters from getting trapped for hours in the trenches, the FRSC has activated a technical rescue blueprint, utilizing clear route diversions to divert traffic away from the worst-hit construction spots. Drivers are being strongly directed to keep to alternative paths mapped out by field officers on the ground.

“The corridor is currently experiencing a massive surge due to the Eid-el-Kabir migration,” an official statement from the corps read. “We are pleading with motorists to maintain absolute lane discipline and cooperate with traffic officials. Impatence and one-way driving will only lock down the portal completely and multiply crash risks.”

The highway intervention marks the formal launch of the FRSC’s nationwide 2026 Eid-el-Kabir Special Patrol Operations, scheduled to run from May 25 to May 31, 2026. The management has deployed a heavy security shield of over 30,000 regular and special marshals across high-risk national grids. In Kaduna State alone, Sector Commander CC Andrew Longkam has moved 1,934 personnel, 25 patrol vans, and eight ambulances into the field, while simultaneously activating emergency roadside clinics stocked with medical consumables.

With the federal government’s two-day festive break just around the corner, transport hubs are bracing for an all-time high in passenger volume. Law enforcement agencies have warned that mobile courts are fully active along the diversions to instantly penalize any driver caught violating the safety manual. By flooding the highway portals with visible enforcement assets, the FRSC is betting on strict field discipline to clear the bottleneck and ensure a hitch-free transition for millions of holiday travelers.