The Niger State Police Command has said that no one is stopping trucks carrying food from moving to the south through Niger State.
The state governor, Mohammed Bago, recently issued an executive order banning the mopping of foodstuffs by people he called “speculators” who come with trucks to cart away the foodstuffs from Niger and other northern states.
Spokesman for the state police command, Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement on Saturday said he was responding to a video circulating on social media claiming that trucks conveying foodstuffs and animals are being blocked from moving to the south at Kara-Jebba, Mokwa area of Niger State.
The statement read, “The Niger State Police Command wishes to respond to a video circulating in some social media, insinuating that vehicles and trucks conveying foodstuffs and animals are being blocked from moving to the south at Kara-Jebba, Mokwa area of Niger State.
“The command wishes to state that the video was an old video of about five years ago and that there was no stoppage or blockage of trucks conveying goods or animals from Minna to Kwara State and vice-versa.
“It is also very important to state that yesterday 16/02/2024 at about 2100hrs, a Toyota Dyna mini truck with Reg. No. BDG 178 XF conveying cattle to Kwara State had a minor accident at the Quarantine checkpoint, Jebba North, and it resulted in evacuating the animal to another vehicle, which caused a little gridlock for a while, and after the evacuation, there was free flow of traffic.
“However, the command hereby emphasised that there was no attempt or outright blockage by any individual or group of persons or agencies at the Kara-Jebba area of Mokwa as insinuated in the video.”
The police spokesman urged the public to disregard the video, saying it was circulated by mischief makers to cause chaos in the state and the nation.
He also appealed to Niger State residents to go about their lawful businesses.