More than 50 essential workers were arrested by the police
in Lagos on Tuesday following the directive of Mohammed Adamu,
inspector-general of police.
On April 27, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered
restriction of movements between 8pm and 6am nationwide to check the spread of
COVID-19.
The president had, however, exempted health workers,
journalists and other essential workers from the curfew.
But there have been reports on the breach of the curfew,
with security operatives being blamed for poor enforcement.
On Tuesday, Adamu held a virtual meeting with zonal
assistant-inspectors general of police and state commissioners of police, where
he directed strict enforcement of the curfew.
He had reportedly ordered that anyone found on the streets
beyond 8pm should be detained.
In the Alausa area of
Ikeja, Lagos, journalists and doctors who were returning from work were
forced to the police station while their vehicles were impounded.
IVY Kanu, a correspondent with the TVC, narrated how some of
the essential workers were detained at the station.
“I left the office tonight and on my way, I noticed that the
roadblocks had increased. I turned to Alausa and I was picked up. I am at the
Alausa police station and you have doctors, essential workers,” she told the
station.
“The place is packed. Over 50 people are here and I heard
that the new instruction for the next three days is to go after everybody, essential
workers and non-essential workers.
“I don’t know how long we will be here. The impounded
vehicles are more than 20 and more are still coming in. I don’t know if this is
part of a new directive from the federal government or it is over-zealousness
on the part of the police officers.
“Some of them have been taken into custody; they have been
put into cells and some are standing outside. I was asked to go behind the
counter; that was where I was before she (DPO) announced that everybody should
come outside and they should hand over our keys and we should sleep in our cars
till the next morning.”
In a swift reaction, Lanre Arogundade, director of the
International Press Centre (IPC), demanded an immediate release of the arrested
journalists.
“It is absolutely out of order for the police to bar
journalists from moving in the name of enforcing total curfew,” he said in a
statement.
“The president has affirmed the role of journalists as
frontline professionals in the fight against Covid-19 while the Minister of
Information had earlier said journalists who have their identity cards should
be allowed free movement during this period. Journalists who are currently
being held in Lagos and any other part of the country should be set free
immediately.”
Some key members of the presidential task force on COVID-19
were said to have been contacted over the arrest of the “essential workers” and
after over two hours in detention, the IGP directed his men to release all
them.
Frank Mba, force public relations officer, conveyed the
IGP’s directive in a statement.
“All essential workers including medical personnel,
firefighters, ambulance services and journalists are exempted from the
restriction of movement associated with both the partial lockdown and the
national curfew across the Federation,” the statement read.
“The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed A. Adamu has
therefore directed all zonal assistant inspectors general of police and
commands commissioners of police to give effect to these exemptions whilst
enforcing the restriction orders.”
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