Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday arrested 14 persons, who were hiding inside two trailers, conveying cattle from Adamawa State to Rivers State. 
Governor Wike said the arrests were made at Rumuigbo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, following a tip-off from some persons.
Wike ordered the prosecution of the 14 persons by the mobile court constituted under the Executive Order 6 signed towards the fight against COVID-19 in the state.
He also directed the State Ministry of Health to conduct COVID-19 tests on the 14 persons to ascertain their status.
“This fight has nothing to do with individuals. The law must take its course. You are aware of what is happening and then some people want to illegally smuggle persons into the state. Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor are under lockdown and the law must be obeyed. The trailers and the cows will be auctioned tomorrow,” he declared.
Wike said that the arrest of the trailers had vindicated him. He said that the security agencies had failed the people of Rivers State, as they collect money and allow defaulters to slip through the boundaries.
The governor said: “You heard them saying that they gave money to the security agencies before they were allowed to cross the border. The owner of the cattle in a phone interview said they have fallen short of the law,” the governor said.
He decried the level of desperation to smuggle people into Rivers, saying that the state government would remain vigilant, despite the challenges it is facing.
One of the defaulters, Ahmed Aliyu, said that they were contracted from Adamawa State to bring cattle to one Alhaji in Oyigbo area of the state. He said that he thought that the lockdown would start by 10 pm and claimed to have bribed security personnel with N1500 before they were allowed to drive through.
