Authorities in Wau State have started removing illegal checkpoints along roads leading to the state on orders of the state governor Angelo Taban Biajo.

The move is a follow-up to President Salva Kiir’s order in 2018 prohibiting illegal checkpoints, which largely remained unimplemented in many parts of the country.

Humanitarian workers and traders have often complained that they are asked to pay at all illegal checkpoints across the country just for them to cross.

On Friday, authorities in Wau State said they closed all checkpoints along roads linking Wau and Tonj, Tambura, Aweil, Gogrial and Lol states.

Anthony Fadha Ubur, the security adviser to Wau state said existence of many illegal checkpoints had contributed to high prices of commodities.

He said soldiers manning the illegal checkpoints fraudulently collect money from traders and travelers in the name of the state authority.

“We moved to close all checkpoints that are existing in the state starting from eastern bank up to the boarder of Wau and Tonj State,” Mr. Fadha told Eye Radio.

“All these checkpoints are destroyed and burnt because we had been monitoring things happening on the roads. The checkpoints were forcing the traders to raise the prices in the markets.”

He added: “We don’t want any checkpoint on the road and I want to ensure you that if we found anybody or a soldier, or anybody else, we will follow legal procedures against him. Let the civilians move freely.”

According to a report by the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring and Verification Mechanism this month, illegal points also prevented ceasefire monitors from accessing some places in the country.