Cross River: Police arrest 26 persons for flouting lockdown order

The police in Cross River State have arrested twenty-six persons for flouting the COVID-19 lockdown order issued by the state government.

The persons were arrested by the police on Thursday, after arriving Cross River State from Akwa Ibom State in two buses, despite the existing lockdown order.

The Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Uche Anozia said: “The passengers and the drivers conspired to infiltrate Cross River State from Akwa Ibom State,” despite being aware of the closure of the border between Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.

“Everybody knows that the boundary between the two states has been closed because of the issue of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged the entire world and Nigeria inclusive.

“We discovered that the passengers did not cross through the conventional road because nobody would have allowed them to do that but they used bush tracks to get to a certain point where the vehicles conveyed them to Cross River State,” he said.

CP Anozia revealed that while the suspects will not be prosecuted due to the closure of the courts, the vehicles have been impounded.

“Unfortunately, the court is not in session and there is no place to take them to, so we will take them back to Akwa Ibom State and warn them against such conduct,” he noted.

The Commissioner of Police also warned other passengers to desist from flouting the lockdown order as the police will not fail to sanction such persons.

Cross River State governor, Ben Ayade, had declared a total lockdown, including all entry points into the state, as part of the state’s measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.