Femi Falana, human
rights lawyer, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of
emergency on the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
The federal and
state governments had put measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus.
Such measures include travel ban, suspension of events, closure of schools and
ban on large gatherings.
However, some of the
directives, particularly involving the ban on large gatherings, have been
ignored by some political and religious leaders.
In a statement on Monday,
Falana said Buhari needs to declare a state of emergency to further establish
the urgency and seriousness of the directives.
He said the
declaration will ensure that disobedience by political and religious leaders
will become a punishable offence.
“In order to stem
the dangerous trend the Federal Government should put necessary legal measures
and mechanisms in place without any further delay,” the statement read.
“In particular, the
attention of the Nigerian people ought to be drawn to section 45 of the
Constitution which provides that the fundamental rights of citizens to personal
liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly and association etc may be
infringed upon or restricted in the interest of public health and public
safety.
“Therefore,
President Muhammadu Buhari should, as a matter of urgency, issue a proclamation
of a state of emergency in the entire Federation pursuant to section 305 (1) of
the Constitution.
“Once the
proclamation is issued by the President and published it is required to be
approved by a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of each house of the
national assembly.
“Once the measures
are set out
in the said
proclamation they will have the force of law capable of being enforced by the
police and other security agencies. If President Buhari does not declare a
state of emergency state governors are advised to issue Executive Orders to
address the health challenge.”
The lawyer also
asked for the decongestion of detention facilities in the country including
correctional centres and police stations.
He said convicts who
are suffering from diabetes, tuberculosis, asthma and terminal diseases should
be released from custody forthwith.
Nigeria currently
has 36 cases of the virus, spread across least five states and the federal
capital territory (FCT).
The country has also
recorded its first death from the disease.
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