From Fred Itua, Abuja
As the daily number of infected persons rise, the African Centre for Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to activate a nationwide partial lockdown to avoid a large scale exposure to COVID-19.
It said the Government was fast losing control of COVID-19 infection in the country and urged that urgent steps be taken immediately to reduce the trend.
Executive director of the body, Nduka-Edede Chinwendu, who signed a statement, said beside the daily number of infected persons, the death toll from the virus was also on the increase across the country.
She said: “The Federal
Government (FG) is gradually losing the control of the spread of COVID-19 infection in the
country with the rate at which the figures are increasing daily. Therefore, it is time for the
government to declare a nationwide partial lockdown to avoid further large scale exposure to the virus.
“Additionally, it is of concern that the death toll due to the virus is also increasing. If the Federal Government fails to act fast, there is a tendency for the death-tolls to get out of hand.
“To tackle the continuous widespread exposure of the virus, we call on the Federal Government to rescind his decision to reopen schools on January 18, 2021. While the Federal Government might have the best intention regarding reopening schools, this intention is outweighed by the increasing death tolls rate.
“Consequently, we advice that the Federal Government suspend school resumption
until when it is safer. Second, it is also crucial for the Federal Government to put measures in place to strictly enforce protocols released
to curtail the further spread.
“Overall, the Federal Government should also quickly consider banning burials, weddings, political gatherings, and other events capable of attracting crowds. Such gatherings are in clear breach of social distancing, one of the non-pharmaceutical measures to stop the spread.
“According to Chapter II of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (As amended), the Federal Government’s primary purpose to her citizenry is that of security and welfare. To achieve this, it must keep her citizens safe and far from harms-way by complying to the highlighted recommendations.”