Borno COVID-19 Committee Clash With Army Over Interstate Travel

The Borno State Committee on the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 on Saturday clashed with the Nigerian Army on the Maiduguri-Damaturu expressway.

While the Army personnel insisted on freeing the highway for the safety of travellers, the COVID-19 committee enforcing the ban on interstate travel wanted the travellers to be properly screened and quarantined before gaining access into the state.

The state’s Deputy Governor, Usman Kadafur, who is also the Chairman of the Borno State Committee on the prevention of the spread of COVID-19, condemned the military’s action against his team.

It took the intervention of The Garrison Commander of 7th Division to calm frayed nerves, offering an explanation for the misunderstanding.

The clash occurred amid rising cases of COVID-19 in Borno.

On Friday, the state recorded 42 new cases of the disease, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Borno has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country’s northeast region with a total of 423 cases and 26 deaths.

Meanwhile, the state’s security situation remains uncertain. On Saturday, the army said it repelled attacks by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Monguno, a town in Borno.

Our correspondent in the state also gathered that two other local government areas, Ganze and Gubio, also came under attack at the same time, although no casualty figures have been reported.