The Lagos State Police Command on Wednesday said it had relocated its checkpoints to ease vehicular movements in the state.
The development followed report revealing how many motorists were trapped in the gridlock that followed the enforcement of the curfew imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The motorists, including essential service workers, slept on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Monday night, after security agents manning the checkpoints at Berger shut down the expressway.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, in a statement on Wednesday, said the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, during an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, created access routes for people on essential duties to pass.
He stated that the enforcement checkpoints were also relocated to more specious locations to ease vehicular movements.
Elkana said “On May 4, 2020, the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, in company of other senior police officers, visited different police checkpoints in the state to monitor compliance with the curfew order.
“The monitoring team noticed that some essential service workers were trapped in the gridlock that built up due to thorough checks, especially on trucks likely to have large number of persons concealed for interstate travels.
“It took a lot of efforts for the CP and his team to create access routes for those on essential duties to pass. The observation made by the CP and his team informed the decision to relocate the enforcement checkpoints to more specious and conducive locations. The new locations have U-turns very close to easily turn back vehicles that are not on essential duties, thereby paving the way for essential service workers to move.”
