The Kaduna State government on Monday barred several haulage vehicles conveying passengers from Kano and other travellers from entering the state.
The trailers were turned back at the border town of Sabon Gida village in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna.
Samuel Aruwan, the state Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, told newsmen at the scene, that the drivers of the trailers flouted the exemption from movement restriction granted vehicles conveying essential goods.
He said: “As you can see, we are here at the border with our sister state of Kano to assess the level of compliance with the travel restriction, and suddenly intercepted long vehicles carrying passengers into Kaduna State.
“They abused exemption as you can see, we found dozens of people hidden and well-concealed.
“The good thing is they have not entered Kaduna State and we will turn them back to wherever they came from.
“Similarly, we have turned back dozens of passengers, and we will sustain the tempo in compliance with the Kaduna State Government’s directives.
“We are having some problems with those beating security through remote areas with motorcycles but we will go back to the drawing board.”
Kaduna State has also renewed the lockdown order in the state by further 30 days.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai in a statement on Sunday by Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesman, said no visitor is allowed into the state while the Covid-19 pandemic is raging and lockdown order subsists.
“The Kaduna State Government has clearly stated that no visitor is welcome to enter the state while the Covid-19 pandemic is raging. Entry into or passage through Kaduna State is prohibited whilst the Quarantine Orders remain in force. Persons seeking to come into the state will be denied entry. Such persons will be given the option of returning to their take-off points or entering isolation for 14 days in locations and conditions that are so austere that nobody can mistake them for holiday resorts, ” the statement read.
“The vehicles being used to enable such attempts to breach the quarantine conditions will be confiscated and forfeited to the government. The companies operating those vehicles will also be prosecuted and shall lose their license to operate in the state, even after the Covid-19 pandemic is contained. Within the state, vehicles of whatever type that is determined to be in violation will be confiscated and forfeited to the government, while the persons driving them will be fined, and maybe imprisoned upon conviction.”