An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrives at Kaduna airport after Abuja airport was closed down for repairs in Kaduna, Nigeria March 8, 2017. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)

LAGOS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Police authority in Nigeria Saturday said it had begun 24-hour air surveillance on central north Abuja-Kaduna highway following increase of traffic on the road.

The measure was part of efforts at ensuring safety of travelers on the road, Salisu Fagge, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city said.

He said traffic on the road is expected to be high from now till the next six weeks due to the shift of air transport services from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to Kaduna Airport.

The Abuja airport was closed on Wednesday for upgrade of some critical facilities, especially the runway.

Police commissioners in Kaduna, Niger and Federal Capital Territory, had been directed to put adequate measures to contain any security threat along the road and beyond, he added.

The police chief assured that the zone would continue to adopt proactive security strategies against any form of security threat in the area, adding that sufficient personnel had been deployed to provide security in the zone.

Fagge assured travelers on the highway that there is "no course for alarm".

In December 2016, the police authority deployed Special Forces to help curb activities of kidnappers, armed robbers, cattle rustlers and other criminal elements along the Abuja-Kaduna highway and surrounding states.

Kaduna has recently gained notoriety as a hotbed for the kidnapping, with past victims including diplomats, judges, government officials and political figures.