Agaju Madugba, Katsina

The coalition of civil society organisations in Katsina State has urged Governor Aminu Bello Masari to reverse his recent directive ordering the resumption of Muslim congregational prayers throughout the state.

The government had about three weeks ago banned congregational prayers especially the Muslim Friday Juma’at prayers as well as church services, arguing that there was a need to enforce the social distance initiative as part of measures to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the area.

But Masari last Tuesday directed that Muslims be allowed to resume observance of the Friday prayers in mosques, a development the civil society groups described as unhealthy in a state still gripped by shock following its first COVID-19 fatality.

The secretary of the coalition, Haruna Abdulhamid, who spoke at press conference in Katsina on Thursday urged government to impose a total lockdown on Daura and it environs where the Katsina State Covid-19 index case died last Saturday.

He argued further that the Emir of Daura had, in the wake of the pandemic, ordered the closure of all Koranic schools in his domain, given the ravaging and indiscriminate spread of the coronavirus.

Related News

He noted that the press conference was informed by their findings after a tour of parts of the local areas where, according to Abdulhamid, “over 70 per cent of the people are not only poor but lacking knowledge of basic COVID-19 preventive measures.

According to him, “the stand of the coalition is that people are aware of this ban on social gathering by the government and with the recently discovered case in Daura, people are saying Daura in particular should be on a total lockdown.

“But the implication of a possible lockdown of Daura and its environs is that Daura is a route to Niger Republic, Kano, and Jigawa states and to the Katsina metropolis.

“So, if you fail to work with the other states and areas, we will end up locking down Daura and the same time unlocking the neighbouring states and towns.

“That is why we even believe that there should be a lockdown of the entire state but you cannot lockdown people when you do not have provisions for them.”

Reports indicate that Katsina health authorities have already rounded up at least 35 persons in Daura and placed them in quarantine over their confirmed primary contact with the deceased index case before he passed on.