{"id":26272,"date":"2020-05-11T13:56:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T12:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=26272"},"modified":"2020-05-11T13:56:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T12:56:54","slug":"harvest-of-corruption-for-security-operatives-as-motorists-flout-fgs-ban-on-interstate-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=26272","title":{"rendered":"How corruption is making a mockery of ban on interstate movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harvest of corruption for security operatives as motorists flout FG\u2019s ban on interstate travel<\/strong>
\n\u25aa With N500 pay-as-you-go bribe, we crossed Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, FCT borders – No regards for Covid-19 protocols, vehicles overcrowded with passengers, no face masks enforcement
\nThe ban on non-essential interstate travels, which is one of the key directives issued by federal government to tame the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria is now becoming more of a business venture for some unprincipled security operatives who are cashing out daily from their duty post by extorting road users.
\nAn investigation conducted by TheNewsGuru (TNG) on the level of compliance with the interstate travel restriction revealed that Nigerians are flouting the FG\u2019s order daily, only difference is the pay-as-you-go illegal tolls collected by greedy security operatives deployed by the government to man borders.
\nRecall that President Muhammadu Buhari on the 27th, April announced that non-essential inter-state travels within the country are banned till further notice.
\nHowever, in this report, TNG\u2019s correspondent, Emmanuel Bagudu gave an experiential evidences of ongoing movements in and out of some states, facilitated by security agents manning the border posts.
\nFrom Jos, it only costs Bagudu\u2019s vehicle a few Naira notes kept aside for security operative to cross some states boundaries and eventually access the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).
\nAreas covered, From the North West, Kaduna shares boundary with Zamfara in Birnin Gwari Local Government, Kastina in Giwa local government and Kano in Makarfi Local government area. While in the North Central Kaduna shares boundaries with the FCT and Niger state in Kagarko local government. Plateau state borders Kaduna in Riyom local Government while Nassarawa Borders Kaduna in Karu local government.
\nAll these seven boundaries in Kaduna though barricaded by Governor Nasir Elrufai to stop travellers from going out and coming into the state never served its purpose.
\nSome motorists have created bush roads while others bribe security operatives with either N500 or N50 to be allowed to follow the little space created for essential duty motorists on the barricades.
\nI planned a trip from Jos, the Plateau state capital to the FCT. The journey is supposed to be for about 2 hours 30 minutes, covering a distance of 181 kilometres, as well as crossing two states, Nassarawa and Kaduna. This implies that a good number of check points and toll gates operations will be expected.
\nAll was set and the journey began from Maraban Jama\u2019a in Riyom local government area of Plateau State. Surprisingly, Maraban Jama\u2019a Motor park was busy and filled with commercial cars calling for passengers going to Abuja.
\n\u201cJos to Abuja is 1-7\u2026.\u201d an official of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) told intending travellers, Meaning;\u201dN1700\u2033 is the transport fare to Abuja. A lot of the passengers complained saying there is reduction in price of fuel but were told point blank that the increment was because of the bribe they (drivers) will offer security operatives at the Jos\/Nassarawa and Nassarawa\/Kaduna borders.
\nEveryone got into the car, I didn\u2019t complain because I found the journey interesting. I had a valid Identity Card that shows am a practicing Journalists but there was no need to flaunt it because it was obvious to me no one will ask for it, especially that it has been established at the park that interstate travel is based on \u2018bribery\u2019 and not about \u2018essentiality\u2019 as stated by the government.
\nThe driver confidently drove the car. We reached the first police check point in Riyom and passed with just a N50 bribe. We approached the first border between Kaduna and Plateau state which is situated in Jama\u2019a Local Government Area of Kaduna and to our greatest surprise, there was a barricade but with no security operatives on guard. The driver was happy and told everyone in the car that we started the journey early enough to have escaped the apprehension of the security operatives. He then drove past the barricade and kept moving. The journey was smooth up to Ungwan Ayaba in Karu Local Government Area of Nassarawa State \u2013 By this time security operatives made up of the FRSC and the Police are already on the road and have manned the road and ensured that the barricade is safe.
\nMotorists numbering over 50 where stopped. Each driver whether on essential duty or not must go and negotiate for a bribe before following a bush path which is away from the barricade.
\nThe bush path is a very rough road with a lot of gullies. Our driver negotiated and paid five hundred naira and was allowed to follow the bush path. Other drivers did same. Before we proceed, the driver asked that one of us sitting at the back should use a motorcycle and drop after a police checkpoint to avoid further apprehension. I volunteered because I was also interested in getting some videos. I followed the bush path and watched how the villagers in Ungwan Ayaba had cleared the bushes in return for N50 toll as compensation. It was very lucrative for them. We also met a group of vigilante who also asked for N50 bribe. I later reunited with my driver and co-travellers at the entry point of Angwan Ayaba from Nassarawa State. In other words I travelled from Kaduna to Nassarawa State on motorcycle.
\nTattara Village in Karu Local government area of Nassarawa State was our next point of expedition. In Tatara, officials of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control stood by a police check point using thermometers to check body temperatures of travellers. There is no lockdown order in Nassarawa State and so the security officers in the state are not hostile
\n\u201c\u2026The police here don\u2019t collect bribe. They just mark you when you are returning, that\u2019s when they ask for bribe\u2026.\u201d the driver said.
\nThe journey continued to the final bus-stop which is Maraba, the border town between Nassarawa State and the FCT. Everyone going into the FCT simply stopped and walked across the border before picking a car going to AYA, Wuse, Area 1 and other parts in the FCT.
\nThe story is the same in other border towns where Kaduna State Government barricaded m borders. In Giwa for instance, where the state shares boundary with Kastina, a little space created only for essential duty vehicles have been compromised. The enforcement of the interstate travel ban is only applicable on days the officials of the State Ministry of Internal security and Home Affairs are on patrol. Almajri children were reportedly sent back by security operatives on several occasions at this border.
\nThe ban on interstate travel is believed to be a key strategy in the control of the spread of the novel Coronavirus and with daily increase of cases of the pandemic, it simply implies that the Federal Government must intensify or better still restrategise its enforcement of non-essential activities across the states borders.
\n\u25aa Report by The NewsGuru (TNG)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harvest of corruption for security operatives as motorists flout FG\u2019s ban on interstate travel \u25aa With N500 pay-as-you-go bribe, we crossed Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, FCT borders – No regards for Covid-19 protocols, vehicles overcrowded with passengers, no face masks enforcement The ban on non-essential interstate travels, which is one of the key directives issued by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":14935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5777,5773,7],"tags":[864,1572,524],"class_list":["post-26272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-features","category-health","category-news","tag-corruption","tag-interstate","tag-jos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}