Soldiers deployed to Mararaba town in Nasarawa State to manage the #EndBadGovernance protest have intercepted a truck carrying approximately 32 people.

A resident, Adamu Yau, told The Nation that the incident occurred around 7:40 am on Friday.

He said the driver of the truck had earlier supplied goats to a cattle market in the area, and that on his way back, a group of youths including commercial motorcyclists, boarded the vehicle along with their bikes, and luggage.

He said, “Some of the passengers told me that they were going to Dei-Dei community in the FCT and wanted to avoid the road traffic officials, who used to seize motorcycles along the the Abuja highway.”

Yau said the soldiers were apparently concerned with the number of the passengers owing to the ongoing protest in the country as well as their appearance.

“The truck was intercepted around 8 am. All the passengers were made to disembark from the vehicle, and were searched one after the other. The soldiers also shaved the hairs of some among them that wore hairstyle similar to that of yahoo boys (internet fraudsters) with a knife,” he added.

It was learnt that the check was ongoing as of 11 am, when this report was filed.