Men of the Oyo State Police Command on May 2, 2020, arrested 11 travelers from Sokoto, who defied the inter-state lockdown order of the Oyo State Government, in their bid to sneak into Akure, Ondo State.
Governor of Oyo State, Engr Seyi Makinde, has, however declared that the travelers would not be released to the Sokoto State Government until they undergo Covid-19 tests stating that the government has begun Covid-19 tests for the travellers.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Sina Olukolu, who briefed Governor Makinde on his arrival at the Gbagi Police Station, where the culprits were detained overnight, said that the travelers were apprehended at the Asejire Dam axis of the Ibadan-Osun boundary, adding that they claimed that they were travelling from Sokoto en route to Akure, Ondo State.
The Governor noted that the travelers would remain isolated until the results of their Covid-19 tests were received from the state.
Governor Makinde, who spoke afterwards, said: “We are not able to explain how they got here in the first place because there is inter-state lockdown throughout the country. They claimed they came from Sokoto and they must have passed through so many states”.
The governor also explained that he has given directives to the effect that the travelers would be kept isolated in Ibadan until the results of their Covid-19 tests are received.
The governor also explained that he was in touch with the Sokoto State Governor, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, and that the travellers would be sent back to Sokoto State.
He said that the state would intensify on-going strategies for inter-state lockdown adding, “I am also in discussion with the governor of Sokoto State. We are more than likely going to return them to Sokoto”.
The governor maintained that governors in the country were still discussing on how to enforce the inter-state lockdown throughout the country so as to curtail the spread of the novel Coronavirus.
