Some security personnel, on Monday, stopped about 60 men hiding in a truck that was conveying cows to Lagos State at the Berger end of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway.
According to reports, the men who came from Zamfara and neighbouring states, were heading to Agege, Lagos.
Moreover, some of the men were seen jumping down from the truck and fled at the sight of the personnel of the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), the Rapid Respond Squad, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Vehicle Inspection Officers and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps at the boundary between both states.
42 of them, who could not escape, were not able to justify why they were coming into Lagos when they were interrogated by the security agents.
The security personnel, however, turned them back and did not allow them to enter into the state.
The motor boy, who followed the truck from Zamfara State, Kabiru Haruna, said the cows were meant to be delivered to an abattoir in Agege and expressed surprise at the security agents stopping them .
He said, “We left Zamfara around 6 pm on Sunday, but not all of us here are from Zamfara State. Some are from Sokoto, Kano and Kebbi states. I am the motor boy for the truck and I followed it from Zamfara down to where we are currently.
“We want to deliver the cows to an abattoir in Agege. I can’t really say the exact time we were stopped, because I did not take note of the time. I don’t know why we were stopped.”
The truck driver was asked to go back to the point of take off after most of the fleeing men had regrouped at the pin down point in Berger.
Speaking on the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the men could not be allowed into the state.
He stated, “Forty-two men from Zamfara State hid in a truck and were intercepted at the Berger end of the expressway. The law is very clear; if you’re escorting a vehicle conveying food items , you must not be more than seven, but these people violated the law and they were turned back.
“We have been searching all vehicles and all food items thoroughly to be sure that nobody is being smuggled into the state and this has helped us. We have sent the truck back; it cannot come into the state.”
