President Muhammadu Buhari has extended the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states for another 14 days as cases of coronavirus in the country continue to rise, with 20 new confirmed cases, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in Nigeria to 343.
“Our approach to the virus remains in 2 steps – First, to protect the lives of our fellow Nigerians and residents living here and second, to preserve the livelihoods of workers and business owners,” Buhari said in a national broadcast on Monday evening. With this in mind and having carefully considered the briefings and Report from the Presidential Task Force and the various options offered, it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the FCT for another 14 days effective from 11:59 pm on Monday, 13th of April, 2020. I am therefore once again asking you all to work with Government in this fight.”
Nigeria’s most populous city Lagos and the country’s capital Abuja, according to the president, accounted for over 71% of the confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nigeria as at Monday. So far, there are currently 343 confirmed cases in Nigeria and ten people have died from the virus while 91 people have been discharged. The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced 20 new confirmed cases of COVID19 in the country.
NCDC said as at 09:50 pm 13th April there are 343 confirmed cases of #COVID19 reported in Nigeria, 91 have been discharged with 10 deaths. The NCDC observed that out of the twenty new cases, 13 were recorded in Lagos, 2 in Edo, 2 in Kano, 2 in Ogun and 1 in Ondo When the lockdowns were announced on March 29, the nation had 97 confirmed cases. The restrictions announced do not apply to hospitals and stores selling essential items such as groceries and medicine.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State chapter of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the imposition of dusk-to-dawn curfew in addition to the extension of the lockdown announced by President Buhari. Lagos has witnessed resurgence of criminal activities in the past few days with residents in areas such as Iyana Ipaja, Agege, Egbeda, Ogba, among others keeping vigil to keep the suspected armed robbers terrorising them at bay.
The PDP Publicity Secretary, Taofiq Gani, in a statement on Monday night, called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu to immediately summon meeting of security agencies including leaders of community development associations (CDAs) to stem the tide of robbery. He said, in addition to the existing lockdown, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu should impose curfew from 8pm till 8am to arrest the rising attacks by suspected cultists and armed robbers.
The statement read: “We urge Governor Sanwo-Olu to at this time deliberately domesticate the modus operandi, if need be, as we suggest, he should request or even demand for adequate relief support from the Federal Government for Lagos state. “For sake of clarity, we suggest that governor Sanwo-Olu should immediately summon meeting of all security agencies and possibly include CDAs, he should even consider the imposition of Curfew in the state from 8pm till 8am. “This is most appropriate now to frontally and strategically stop this robbery and violent attacks arising from effects of the lockdown. “The violent crimes must be blamed on Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos police command if it lingers beyond 48 hours.”