Kaduna threatens return to 24-hour curfew as state records new case

SOKAPU condemns arrest, detention of district heads by police

Kaduna State Government has threatened to revert to the previous 24-hour curfew in the state by closing the two-day window it opened for residents to re-stock food supplies, if the people continue flouting the stay-at-home order.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, who handed down this warning yesterday, said that government had ordered security agents to deal decisively with violators henceforth.

Her Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, stated that the deputy governor was alarmed that some people take the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for granted; hence they were defying the lockdown.

The state government had reviewed the 24-hour lockdown last Wednesday, by giving the residents Tuesday and Wednesday every week to buy food and other essential commodities.

However, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Baloni, has revealed that the state recorded one new case of COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the number to five.

In a statement yesterday, she said the state had sent 89 samples to Abuja for testing, and five came out positive, 77 negative and eight pending. Baloni also stated that 119 contacts had been listed and further contact tracing was ongoing.

According to the commissioner, the ministry has set up an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), which meets every day, to take proactive measures. Meanwhile, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has accused the police of indiscriminately arresting some district heads and leaders of Southern Kaduna and Fulani, keeping them in custody.

It urged the police authorities in the state to either charge those arrested to court or release them, saying that the police must be held responsible for those in their custody under the prevailing health situation in the country. President of SOKAPU, Jonathan Asake, yesterday, lamented the arrest of some leaders of Attakar and Fulani.

“We have been reliably informed that some leaders are under detention on the orders of the police in the past four days,” he said, naming those detained to include the acting district head of Zangan, Peter Zango; Attakar National Youth Leader, Moses Vincent; Head of Adu Village, Mr. Adamu Bature; and his Afan counterpart, Mr. Ayuba Uyit.