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Coronavirus: Zamfara Governor Orders Closure Of Government Offices

Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the immediate closure of all government offices in the state.

The move was to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the state.

No case of COVID-19 is yet to be confirmed in the state.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had on Monday morning confirmed 36 cases of the virus with one death so far.

In his directive, Matawalle ordered all civil servants to stay at home.

However, he stated that health workers, firefighters and radio stations were exempted from the order.

He said, “I have ordered the immediate shutdown of all government offices, ministries, departments and agencies.

“Almajiri schools should also be closed. All state civil servants should remain at home.

“Gathering of more than 20 people is banned.

“Our hospitals, fire service and radio stations are not affected by this rule.”

The governor, who described the rapid increase of Covid-19 cases in the country as alarming, advised the people of Zamfara to practice social distancing, avoid large crowds and also take all necessary precautions as directed by the NCDC.

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March 24, 2020
JUST IN: Enyimba Player, One Other Person Abducted In Ondo

Dayo Ojo, a football player with Enyimba Football Club of Aba, has been abducted by gunmen in Ondo State.

Ojo was kidnapped on Sunday alongside a friend identified as Benjamin Iluyomade of Abia Comet.

SaharaReporters learnt that the two footballers were waylaid on Benin-Owo Road in Ondo State.

Another player identified as Emma James, who escaped the attack, confirmed the kidnap to journalists.

He said, “We were traveling on the road when the gunmen came out from the bush and attacked us.

“They shot sporadically before abducting some people in the vehicle including the two players but I managed to escape.”

It was gathered that the gunmen had reached out to Enyimba coach for ransom payment.

Tee-Leo Ikoro, Ondo State Police Command spokesperson, confirmed the incident.

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March 23, 2020
BREAKING: Lagos Government Asks Civil Servants To Stay At Home For Two Weeks Over Coronavirus

The Lagos State Government has asked public officers to stay at home for 14 days as part of measures to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

The stay-at-home order affects officers from Grade level 1 to 12.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave the order on Sunday during a statewide address.

Nigeria has recorded 28 confirmed cases of the pandemic, raising fears of a further spread.

The situation has forced several state governments to take stringent measures including closing schools and restricting public gatherings.

International flights into Nigeria have also been suspended to curb the spread of the virus.

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March 23, 2020
Nigerian Youth Have Gone To Sleep? By Tao Bakare

Woke up this morning to the unfortunate reality of the Nigerian state, the failure of her youth to take up responsibilities as the thread and wool that holds her fabric together.

Flashback to the time when our past heroes, who were at the time youths, took up giant strides and went through the battles, upheavals, fights that ensured the liberation of the Nigerian state.

In the nineties, Nigeria was lucky to have the likes of Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana amongst others responsible for the many historical and ground-breaking achievement through measures of journalism, arts, literature and activism amongst others.

Unfortunately, today, the reverse is the case, as we now have illiterates, educated hypocrites and mediocres that make up over sixty five percent of the Nigerian population.

However, the blame cannot solely lie on the youths themselves, as it is loud enough that our leaders whom we entrusted our future unto have failed woefully to deliver in this respect. But also, it is noteworthy that the youths themselves have not helped to correct the anomalies, but have glaringly resolved to fold arms and watch their own future rubbed in the mud.

In the Nigeria of today, youths have been relegated to the position of back benchers, applauding mammoth and mere on Lookers in the running of state affairs, which they ought to be at the fore front, as in the times of the West African Students Union, when students, youths, led liberation movements across Africa, and also saw to the independence of West African states.

Obviously, it is crystal clear that youths, who occupy the largest percentage of Nigeria’s population now see themselves and thus submit to our doomed leaders, as election thugs, political hallelujah boys, political assassins and trash can. Instead of them to look ahead, beyond ethic bigotry and difference, it is unfortunate they now lead ethnic hate discussions and debates both online and offline, in turn, parading themselves as useless ‘ leaders of tomorrow’. I wonder how this country will pay it’s debts in the next twenty years, with this kind of bad debtors in town, the so called youths.

In a sane society, the youths should be the ultimate institution of political accountability and policy partner to the government, thereby, holding erring leaders accountable. Also, youths should serve as the rebranding tool for a collapsing or collapsed entity, like ours.

Recently, the chief of police, ordered for the disbandment of zonal SARS in Ogun State following the death of a promising young man, Tiamiyu Kazeem popularly known as Kaka, who until his death was the Vice Captain of Remo Stars Football Club.

The order of the IGP, came, not only regarding the fact that the young man who was the victim of yet another SARS menace, was a known football star, but also because the youths in Sagamu community flaunted their power as youths!

Moral of this recent case and it’s achievement, is that, so much can be achieved if youths wake up from their long mouth drooling slumber and take full responsibility for their own future.

Nevertheless, if they fall to do this, I fear they may sleep and never wake up.

The time To Take It Back is now!

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March 23, 2020
COVID19: Restrictions On Peaceful Assembly And Movement Without A Law Or State Of Emergency Is Unconstitutional By Inibehe Effiong

A follower on Twitter asked me on Saturday whether it is “constitutional” for the government to restrict religious and social gatherings because of Coronavirus?

By virtue of Section 45 of the 1999 constitution, the rights to peaceful assembly and free movement can be interfered with in the interest of public health and public safety. Is Coronavirus a threat to public health and public safety? The answer is obviously in the affirmative.

Section 14 (2)(b) of the constitution states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

However, I urge President Buhari to declare a state of emergency throughout the federation in line with Section 305 of the constitution.

Section 305 (3)(d) of the constitution, allows for a state of emergency when “there is clear & present danger of breakdown of public order and public safety in the federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger.” COVID-19 is a clear and present danger to public safety.

Unlike in the United States, States in Nigeria cannot declare emergency. A governor supported by 2/3 members of the House of Assembly can only request the president to do so for them as stated in Section 305 (4) of the constitution. This is an example of the fraudulent nature of our federalism.

Since there is no special law to my knowledge, apart from laws establishing national and States emergency management agencies, to address public health crisis, it is necessary for the President to declare a state of emergency in Nigeria to address the outbreak of Coronavirus.

In the absence of a law enabling these restrictions to social and religious gatherings, the legality of these measures is questionable. This is because fundamental rights cannot be derogated from except as prescribed in a law that is “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society.”

It is either a law is urgently enacted across the volatile states or the President invokes the state of emergency clause. As at today, there is no strong legal basis for restricting gatherings. None of the governors or the President has issued even an ordinary ‘Executive Order’.

In the United States for example where we copied our presidential system, President Trump declared a national emergency, and at least 48 States in the US have also declared emergency due to COVID-19. The American Congress also passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

In Nigeria, we are resorting to our usual militaristic way of doing things by relying on arbitrary executive fiat to tackle COVID-19. Nations do not become great just by the “good intentions” of politicians. Nations become great principally by adhering to the rule of law.

In the light of the foregoing, I strongly urge the federal and state governments to urgently take steps to address the apparent legal loopholes in their efforts to tackle Coronavirus. It is obvious that Nigeria is not prepared for an outbreak. We are doing trial and error.

We need a legal framework; not only to give legal backing to the restrictions on the fundamental rights of Nigerians to religion, association, assembly, movement, etc., but to also provide for reliefs for families and victims of COVID-19.

We should not wait for the worst to happen.

I wish to draw the attention of the government to the decision of the Court of Appeal in the celebrated case of Okafor v. Lagos State Government (2017) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1556) 404 where it was held that disobeying the “order” or “directive” of a governor is not a criminal offence.

In that case, Lagos State issued an order restricting movement during environmental sanitation, Okafor was arrested for disobeying the order. The court declared the arrest illegal and unconstitutional since there was no law that criminalized violation of the governor’s order.

Without a law or a state of emergency, it is illegal to arrest anyone for violating a mere executive order. Emotions cannot change the law. If religious leaders whose places of worship have been closed decide to challenge the closure in court, the government will likely lose.

I hope the government at all levels will listen to the voice of reason and initiate appropriate legal frameworks to support the containment of COVID-19. It is either we are a country of laws or a banana republic.

We should not yield to authoritarian rule because of expediency.

Inibehe Effiong is a Lagos-based legal practitioner and human rights activist

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March 23, 2020
Sufficient supply of basic necessities despite panic buying

GEORGE TOWN: The supply of basic necessities in Penang is sufficient although there were cases of panic buying at some of the state’s supermarkets until yesterday.

Penang Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs office director Mohd Ridzuan Ab Ghapar said investigations conducted by enforcement officers found that four supermarkets on the island were the target of panic buying.

“I urge the people to stop panic buying immediately because there are enough essentials. It takes a bit of time to restock depleted goods such as rice, cooking oil, eggs, sardines and instant noodles to the four supermarkets.

“However, the essentials are still available at groceries and mini markets,“ he told Bernama, here today.

More than 100 business premises were inspected from Wednesday until yesterday to ensure adequate supply of basic necessities.

Mohd Ridzuan said that until today he had only received complaints about the shortage of face masks and expected that to be resolved soon.

“From our monitoring of the 16 premises selling face masks in Penang, only five shops in Seberang Perai Tengah have supplies. We will continue monitoring to ensure sufficient supply,“ he said.

He said any complaints and inquiries can be referred to the trade enforcement office at 04-5751703 and 04-255 2435 for Seberang Perai and George Town areas, respectively.

Meanwhile, checks at a supermarket in George Town found that people were still buying necessities in large quantities purportedly because they have many family members at home.

Consumer Mohd Syukri Abdul Razak, 45, said he had no choice but to buy essentials, especially rice, eggs, bread, sardines and chicken in large quantities as his household consisted of eight people including his mother, wife and five children.

“I work in manufacturing and factory operations are still going on. Today I am off, out buying household goods for a week. This is not panic buying but a weekly routine,“ he added. – Bernama

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March 22, 2020
Domino’s Pizza delivers a safer way

KUALA LUMPUR: Domino’s Pizza is now keeping its distance from its customers – all for the benefit of everyone.

In a press statement issued today, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia’s chief executive officer Shamsul Amree said the company has implemented a “zero contact” delivery service.

He said that under the new process, the delivery man, whom the company refers to as a “delivery expert”, would place the order on a designated safe and clean surface and then step back two to three metres away.

The customer can then pick up the item and check to see if everything is in order. The rider will only leave once the process is completed.

Given that there will no longer be any physical contact between the delivery man and the customers, Shamsul said, Domino’s Pizza will only take orders through its mobile app or its website www.dominos.com.my.

Shamsul said pizza delivery will continue within the respective permitted hours in each state but dine-in service is still not permitted.

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March 22, 2020
BREAKING: Two more Covid-19 deaths bring total to 8

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has reported two more deaths due to Covid-19 that occurred today, bringing the death toll to 8 cases.

This comes after the Health Ministry reported 4 deaths over the past week, and two more deaths today announced by the Sarawak state disaster management committee.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the seventh death was of a 57-year-old Malaysian citizen with a travel history to Vietnam and had contacts with Covid-19 positive cases from the tabligh cluster.

The patient was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on March 18 after a week of fever, cough and sore throat.

“The next day, the patient’s health deteriorated and he was in need of respiratory assistance. The patient was pronounced dead at 3.22pm on Mar 21,“ he said in his Facebook posting today.

The eighth death was of a 69-year-old Malaysian citizen also from the tabligh cluster. The patient was admitted to Tumpat Hospital on Mar 16 after having symptoms of fever since Mar 12.

“The patient was transferred to the King’s Hospital of Zainab II, Kota Baru on Mar 18, after which their deteriorating health condition prompted need of respiratory assistance the next day. The patient was pronounced dead on March 21, 2020, at 4pm,“ he said, while expressing his condolences to the immediate family members of the deceased.

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March 21, 2020
Covid-19 worldwide death toll nears 115,000

ANKARA: With the global death toll on Saturday approaching 115,000, health officials worldwide announced new cases in coronavirus’ continuing spread, Anadolu Agency reported.

The country with the highest loss of life due to coronavirus is Italy, where 4,032 people have so far died, after eclipsing China earlier this week.

Mainland China, where the outbreak started last December, was second, with a total of 3,255 people dead.

Iran had the third-highest death toll, with 1,433.

Australia reported that the number of cases of Covid-19 rose to 1,051, with 300 people added to the total in the last 24 hours.

Singapore’s Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the number of cases in the country rose to 385, and it also claimed the lives of a 75-year-old Singapore woman and a 64-year-old Indonesian.

Morocco’s Health Ministry said the number of cases had risen to 86, including seven people who had recently been abroad.

Morocco on Friday declared a state of emergency over the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Paraguay’s Health Ministry announced on Twitter that a 69-nine-year old man had died from the virus after treatment in an intensive care unit.

Local media reported that the total cases number of cases in the country was 18.

President Mario Abdo Benitez announced that a quarantine declared for March 10 to April 4 has been extended to April 12. — Bernama

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March 21, 2020
Covid-19: Sabah imposes new restrictions

KOTA KINABALU: In a bid to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the Sabah government has issued several new restrictions today including a 14-day quarantine at the nearest quarantine centres for all individuals arriving from abroad.

State Secretary Datuk Safar Untong said in line with the decision of the National Security Council yesterday, the state government would implement the move from tomorrow until March 31 for all individuals entering the state by air, sea, river and land.

“In addition, the inter-district public jetties will be closed to the public.

“The state government has decided that inter-district public jetties in Kudat, Sipitang, Kota Kinabalu, Lahad Datu, Sandakan and Tawau will be closed from March 22 to 31, except for emergency cases,” he said in a statement here today.

He said the state government had also ordered all districts to impose roadblocks with immediate effect.

“Thus far, only 17 districts have implemented roadblocks to reduce the movement of vehicles carried out by the Royal Malaysia Police and the Road Transport Department,” he said. — Bernama

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March 21, 2020