Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says the police in the state have arrested eleven travellers from Sokoto State on Saturday in Ibadan for flouting the interstate lockdown order put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing reporters at the Gbagi Divisional Police Headquarters in Ibadan, Makinde said the police arrested the violators at Asejire, the boundary between Oyo and Osun states.
The governor said the state COVID-19 task force has taken their samples, adding that they will be put in isolation pending the outcome of their test results.
He said: “First, they are not able to explain how they got here in the first instance. There is an interstate lockdown throughout the country and they claimed they came from Sokoto and they must have passed through so many states before getting here.
“We have taken their samples now. They cannot go anywhere now until they get the results, and I have asked my Special Assistant (on Arewa Matters) to talk to Sarkin Shasha (Alhaji Haruna Maiyasin Katsina) and then we will see if we can keep them in that community isolated until we have their results.
“I am also in discussion with the Governor of Sokoto State (Mallam Aminu Tambuwal) and, more than likely, we are going to return them to Sokoto.”
Governor Makinde noted that steps were being taken to forestall the breach of the interstate lockdown in the state.
He said: “It is a discussion going on with the rest of governors in Nigeria because the interstate lockdown was put in place for a particular reason, and what we have said we should do is to ensure that in each individual state where you have the interstate garages those garages must be on lockdown.
“If those interstate garages are on lockdown, at least 80 to 85 percent of our problem would have been solved. Then, you can be talking about hitchhikers and all of those types of people. It is an ongoing discussion and I believe that will be the ultimate way to go for this period.”
