“Since last week when the governor announced a one-week order to lockdown the state, there has not been any direct communication between him and the citizens of the state and today at the expiration of the one-week stay at home order, no one is sure as to what to expect as of tomorrow. This morning, there was confusion at the only testing centre in the state and testing had to be suspended, no one is clear about what led to the confusion and the decision to suspend testing.”
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“Furthermore, CITAD has noticed with total disappointment how people are getting back to their normal lives in some areas of the state especially in the inner-city areas. This is something that should worry every right-thinking person, not only government, looking at how the number of positive cases in the state is increasing on a daily basis.”
“The inability of the state government to come out with comprehensive plan for palliatives cannot also be unconnected with the fact that as of now, nobody is in charge. In the same sense, the government is incapable of responding to the management of the news flow, including several pieces of fake news that it ought to respond to and clarify which have every potential of undermining the objectives of the lockdown.”
CITAD, in a statement by its Campaigns and Communication Officer, Ali Sabo, has therefore called on the Kano State government to provide a clear road map on how basic essential services could be accessed by citizens as well as those operating the lockdown.
“There is no point beating a dead horse in this matter. This government has shown an unparalleled level of incompetence in confronting the challenges of COVID 19.”
“Whereas covid-19 has led to the death of about 11 patients to date (14/4/20), law enforcement agents have extrajudicially executed 18 persons to enforce the regulations. This speaks volumes of the protocols and rules of engagement for our law enforcement as well the efficiency level and capacity of law enforcement agents to deal with civil population. It’s a sheer display of impunity and reckless disregard for human life in law enforcement by security personnel.”
To cushion the impact of the lockdown on poor and vulnerable communities, President Buhari in a nationwide broadcast directed the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to set up and implement a palliative scheme for targeted poor and vulnerable communities.
The civil society group stated that its demands for apology and full investigation are in appreciation of the values of partnership that drives AU’s Agenda 2063 as well as the values of equality, mutual accountability, reciprocity and solidarity which have ensured the good relationship between the African Union, the majority of its member states and China.
“As a digital rights organization, we cherish online privacy and while we struggle to ensure that government does not abuse the privacy of individuals, we should equally urge citizens to respect the privacy of others.”
“We need the power of the NLC/TUC to push the Government to adopt this Action Program. That will ensure that the poor majority of Nigerians do not suffer so much from a disease that was brought here by the corrupt elite flying in from London, Paris, New York and other places,” the CSOs stated in the revised summary