Niger coup: Ghanaian driver recovering after he was shot, trucks burnt on Burkina Faso border

The driver of the lead vehicle is responding to treatment after being shot in the attack last week.

Dambala Enterprise, the transport company managing one of the affected trucks narrates to JoyNews, “They were waiting for military escort but it delayed for many days.”

“After one of the vehicles succeeded in crossing the border without the escort, others decided to follow.”

Masawudu Dambala continues, “our truck was the lead vehicle. The terrorist chased the trucks on motorbikes and ordered them to stop but the driver refused, not knowing there were a lot of them along the route. They started shooting them”.

Videos available to JoyNews show many trucks burnt at the border earlier this year.

Before now, several drivers have died in similar attacks with over ten Ghanaian trucks being burnt.

The Dori route into Burkina Faso from Niger has been abandoned by long-distance trucks following heightened activities of terrorists in the area.

One of the three affected trucks was carting onions bound for the Kwadaso Market in Kumasi.

All 330 bags of onions in the affected truck are rotting away after the vehicle was burnt.

“The leading truck was transporting beans and the next one had onions. That was the one transporting my onions. Those were the first to be attacked. They called me to tell me about the situation and I refused to ask any further questions”, Mahamadu Maazu counts his loss.

Niger supplies Ghana with onions, beans, potash, cowhide and local tea popularly known as ‘ataya’.

Following the closure of the Benin border as a result of the ECOWAS sanctions against Niger, some drivers have had to consider other options.

The Dambala Enterprise owns 35 trucks which have often been involved in carting food from Niger.

For many days, some of the trucks have been locked up in Burkina Faso.

According to Masawudu Dambala, one of their vehicles opted for the Dowli route which is less preferred due to security concerns.

The trucks broke security protocols after their inability to secure a military escort to cross the border for many days.

Presently, the transport and import company, Dambala Enterprise has closed operations in Niger.

Fifteen of their trucks are locked up in the landlocked country, Niger.

Masawudu Dambala is worried about the situation.

“We have lost a lot of money to this. I can’t quantify the exact amount. We have communicated to our drivers to remain calm and stay where they are if it is safe”, he said.

Many food importers in Kumasi stand the chance of losing all their investments if the situation continues.