30 Almajiris discovered inside truckload of pepper in Ogun

Security operatives in Ogun State have nabbed some 30 almajiris travelling with a truckload of pepper entering the state.

The Iveco truck, which was meant to carry only goods, was intercepted at Joju area of Sango in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State by operatives of Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps [TRACE] on Monday.

Spokesman of TRACE, Babatunde Akinbiyi, in a statement, said the truck with registration number Kano XG172 KNG, loaded with assorted pepper, was covered with tarpaulin.

He said what the truck was conveying came to light when TRACE operatives forced the driver to park and untie the tarpaulin.

“The Almajirai were packed together with various types of pepper which filled the truck to the brim.

“The truck was turned back and led to tollgate from where they said they came in.”

When asked where the truck was coming from and where it was heading to, Akinbiyi said, the truck was coming from Lagos axis.

He added, “but, we don’t know their final destination before they were apprehended at Ota by eagle eye of the Divisional TRACE Command, Ota, Ajibade Adekunle.”

He explained that operatives with unbranded vehicle follow the truck till it left the boundary of the state.

He said,

“another team at the toll gate was awaiting them for easy passage, even though a TRACE team was in another unbranded vehicle following them from behind.”

The bust comes a day after southern and middle-belt leaders raised the alarm about the infiltration of their regions by almajiris from the north.