By SUMAILA OGBAJE

Hundreds of travelers were stranded on the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway following the restriction of movement order announced by the Borno State Government because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that several motorists who were travelling to Maiduguri from different parts of the country were stopped at the Birni and Yobe states borders by security agencies.

Some of the travelers who spoke with NAN claimed they were not aware of the restriction order by the State government to stop movement into and out of the state.

A traveler, Isah Toro, said he was traveling from Damaturu to Maiduguri, claiming that he was not aware of the movement restriction into Borno.

Toro said that they were only stopped from entering Borno without any explanation, urging the government to allow them move on since they were not aware of the lockdown.

“Many of us were not aware that the Borno government has stopped movement into the state.

“We only came here to discover that vehicles are not allowed beyond this point which is the border between the two state.

“We are appealing to the government to allow us proceed to our destinations for today only because many people are coming from far places,” he said.

Another traveler, Miss Evelyn Mantu, said that she had spent over 24 hours on the road from Benue, saying their vehicle could not go beyond Damaturu on Sunday because of the prevailing security situation in the North East.

Mantu also called on the government of Borno to consider the plight of passengers that had been on the road from their locations before the restriction order.

NAN recalls that Borno government had on Sunday announced total lockdown by shutting its borders to non-essential movements, in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Alhaji Umar Kadafur, Chairman, High Powered Response Team for the Control and Prevention of COVID-19, who is also the Deputy Governor of the State, made the announcement in a statement on Sunday in Maiduguri. (NAN)

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