Eight passengers including the driver of a commercial bus have been arrested in Sokoto by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and are to be prosecuted for violating the state border closure directive.

The borders were shut to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tambuwal directed the state police Wednesday to liaise with the Commissioner of Justice and ensure the prosecution of the violators of the closure order.

However, Sokoto state has maintained its zero records of COVID-19 since the outbreak.

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Tambuwal’s special adviser on media and public affairs, Muhammad Bello said the governor on his way back from Tureta Local Government Area bordering Sokoto and Zamfara states, flagged down a vehicle, only to discover it was a commercial bus conveying passengers out of the state.

He arrested and handed them over to the state police commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani Kaoje for prosecution.

The Commissioner of Police said all the passengers were being interrogated to know their culpability and would be charged to court as directed by the governor.

Also, the state Joint Task Force on COVD-19 lockdown has intercepted three vehicles with 18 passengers and their drivers for defying the lockdown directive.