Wa, (UW/R), April 30, GNA – The Upper West Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) says it arrested 122 foreign nationals in April 2020 alone for attempting to either enter or leave the country, despite the closure of the borders.
The arrests took place at the Babile inland check point, Dakpla junction and on the Black Volta River, all in the Upper West Region at different occasions through regular inspection of vehicles through the GIS check points.
Mr Ibn Yussif Duranah Abdul-Mumin Seidu, the Upper West Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GIS revealed this to the Ghana News Agency in Wa on Thursday.
He said the arrests were part of efforts to enforce the President’s directive on the closure of all national borders to combat the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Mr Seidu said all the arrested individuals who were Burkinabe nationals were processed and repatriated to their country.
He added that the Port Health Officials were present to screen those arrested foreign nationals to determine their Covid-19 status before they were repatriated.
He explained that due to the numerous unapproved routes in the region, some foreign nationals took advantage of that to travel into the country while others too tried to travel out through the same routes.
The PRO therefore noted that all vehicles that travelled through the GIS check points were inspected to identify the non-Ghanaian nationals who were onboard those vehicles.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had issued the closure of all national borders, including; sea and air as part of efforts geared towards fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Ghana has so far recorded 2,074 cases of the Covid-19, with 212 recoveries and 17 deaths as at April 30, 2020.
GNA