A trailer – truck loaded with travellers from the Northern Nigeria and heading to the South Eastern Nigeria has tipped over killing scores of the travellers as well as animals loaded in the trailer. The animals were suspected Fulani cows, rams and goats loaded inside the truck along side with travellers and Almajiris headed to the South Eastern Nigeria.
According to the report made available to 9News Nigeria reporter, the accident happened around Meme bridge in Lokoja.
9News Nigeria gathered that the trailer was loaded with many people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen and Almajiris being transported from some states in Northern Nigeria to the South Eastern Nigeria.
Recall that there have been several interceptions of trucks carrying several hundreds of Almajiris migrating from the Northern part of the country to the Southern Nigeria especially South West and South East.
The mass exodus and repatriation of Almajiris to the Southern Nigeria have been ostensibly engendered by recent announcement by Norther Nigeria governors that Almajiri system should be abolished.
However, Southern Nigerian residents and leaders have shown repulsive response to this development owing to suspicions of the purpose of the mass movement of the Almajiris from the North to the Southern Nigeria.
The suspicious factors include security threat as some of these Almajiris could be used for malicious political intentions against their host states.
Other suspicions also border around health threats. There is suspicion that some of these Almajiris could be people already infected with corona virus, hence posing the risk of infecting unsuspecting people living in host states.