ON the heels of the Zuba military- Shitte face-off,  the Islamic group is involved in another confrontation with military men along the Abuja – Keffi expressway on Monday.

The road was blocked by Shiite protesters, calling for the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky who has been in detention for almost three years.

A similar clash on Saturday along the Zuba-Kaduna expressway in Abuja had led to the death of three of the protesters while many others sustained gunshot injuries.

The recent face-off has lead to traffic gridlock along the Abuja-Keffi expressway. Motorists, for fear of their lives, avoided the route, thus leaving commuters stranded at the various bus stops.

Road users were aggrieved that a protest that started peacefully has turned violent, upsetting the movement of passengers. “If they want to protest, they should go to one side of the road, we will still see them” said a stranded commuter.

“I left my office since 4.o’clock and I had to hitch a ride from Berger to Head of Police from there someone helped me to AY and since then, am yet to move another inch from where I am. The traffic is terrible and these military guys are just running around and we don’t know what is going on,” said Abiodun, another stranded commuter.

A resident of Nyanya, who gave her name simply as Felicita, said she came to town on an errand but is yet to get home as at 7:35 pm. She said she had to wait for hours before she could get a vehicle heading her way.

Video footages circulating on the social media show that there are casualties, but an official figure of the casualties is yet to be announced at the time of this publication. Two youths were seen carrying a young man soaked in blood in a video clip posted on Twitter. They were shouting, “Ina Lilahi Waina Ilehi rajiuna” as both ferried the wounded man to safety.