The Nigerian government says the lockdown order placed on some states by President Muhammadu Buhari will be lifted when citizens fully comply with preventive measures to curtail against COVID-19.

Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, disclosed when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to update the public on the government’s efforts toward containing the pandemic.

Mohammed noted that it would be difficult to defeat coronavirus if citizens failed to observe directives meant to safeguard themselves and others.

Asked whether or not the two weeks lockdown President Muhammadu Buhari slammed on Abuja, Lagos and Ogun could be extended; the minister said the behavior of Nigerians would determine that.

“If we don’t behave ourselves, it is likely that the lockdown will be extended, but if we behave ourselves, there might not be an extension and I hope we do so.

“If we stay at home for two weeks and we are doing everything we are supposed to do, we should be able to effectively contain the disease.

“My appeal to Nigerians is that they should obey the directives on social distancing, personal hygiene, and shun gatherings; after two weeks, we will resume our normal lives.

“But if they think it is a joke, then we may have to stay at home more than the two weeks,” Mohammed added.

As the time of filing this report, Nigeria has recorded 190 cases of coronavirus and two deaths.

Lagos State governor orders families who have corpses of loved ones in our mortuaries have 2 weeks to pick the bodies for funeral so as to decongest our facilities.

For about two months, there have been no funerals in Lagos due to the Lent period and restrictions of #COVID19.

You can hold funeral ceremonies in Lagos State as long as you comply with the requirements that we have outlined, which are as follows: the total number of persons at the funeral, including officiating religious leaders, must not exceed 20,

... appropriate physical distancing must be maintained at the funeral ceremony, all attendees/mourners must use masks and ensure they wash their hands after the ceremony.

There also must be NO receptions or parties to accompany these funerals.

Be rest assured that as long as these directives are fully complied with, funerals will be allowed and encouraged to take place.

If we are unable to see a decongestion of the mortuaries across the State in the next two weeks...

...the Lagos State Government will be compelled to carry out mass burials to achieve this. We do not want to be forced to do this, which is why we are asking for your cooperation in this regard.

I also ordered the release of 209 inmates of correctional centres in Lagos. This was done in part to decongest correctional centres in view of the #COVID19 pandemic and is part of a larger effort to bring lasting reform to the administration of criminal justice in the country.

As at midnight yesterday April 24, 2020, Lagos State had a total of 670 confirmed cases of #COVID19. What this means is that we have seen a 76% increase in our number of confirmed cases within four days, an average of 70 cases daily.

This increase shows three things; One, that we are now firmly in the community transmission phase; Two, that our strategy of ramping up testing especially within local communities is working, and, Three, that this is not the time for us to relax or to slow down in the efforts...

... we are making to break the chain of transmission. Let continue to follow all health advisory, observe a high level of personal hygiene and take note that the use of face masks is now compulsory in public places in Lagos State.

Together, as one Lagos, we will beat #COVID19

The police said the dismissal of the erring police officers, Inspector Ikuesan Taiwo with AP NO 251724 and PC Abass Ibrahim with Force No. 509634, was preceded by a trial where they were found guilty of assaulting Azeez.

he Nigeria Police Force on Friday said it had dismissed two officers, who assaulted a woman, Tola Azeez, in Osun State.

The police said the dismissal of the erring police officers, Inspector Ikuesan Taiwo with AP NO 251724 and PC Abass Ibrahim with Force No. 509634, was preceded by a trial where they were found guilty of assaulting Azeez.

The duo attached to Iwo Division of Osun State Police Command were seen assaulting the woman at the Odo Ori Market, Iwo, Osun State, in a video that went viral.

In the video, the police officers interrogated the woman on an unknown issue and soon began pulling her by the clothes she wore.

Taiwo and Ibrahim continuously flogged her with whips amidst pleas by sympathisers to stop the assault.

The Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, called for a full investigation after seeing the video.

“The investigations have been concluded and the police officers have been dismissed. They would be arraigned in court soon,” the police said.

Victims Of Law Enforcement Brutality During COVID-19 Lockdown Should Seek Compensation, Rights Activists Say

ince the lockdown instituted by President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the spread of the Coronavirus on March 30 came into effect, more than 22 persons in the country have lost their lives to police and military brutality, a figure almost matching the death toll of the pandemic itself in the country.

The National Human Rights Commission said it had received and documented about 105 complaints of incidents of human rights violations perpetuated by security forces in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states and Abuja.

Families of victims of these extra judicial killings are however, left without support in most instances because they are unaware of their right to compensation. 

A rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who spoke with SaharaReporters on Friday said there are legal avenues loved ones of victims of police and military brutality can explore to seek redress.

He said, “The first step is to file an action in court because the court has to make determination that the infringement is a violation of the fundamental right of the victim. In furtherance of that, an order of compensation will be made.

"If there is an order of court, first compensation will usually arise from a judgment of court mostly when an action for enforcement of fundamental rights has commenced and has been successfully concluded.

“After the court determines that the rights or dignity of the applicant has been violated, an order of public apology or compensation will be issued.

"It is a conditional right, the right to public apology and compensation is guaranteed under the constitution specifically Section 34 and 35 on the right to personal liberty and the right to dignity of the human person.

"Under 35, the condition allows for compensation and public apology but that has to be when the court has made a determination that the right of a citizen has been violated. "The challenge is how to recover the compensation because you will have to go to court by way of enforcement of judgment to garnish the account of the police because it is an agency of government.

“The order will then be used to scan the accounts of the law enforcement agency and a directive of payment will be made to the complainant. 

"Garnishing proceedings is when you search for the accounts of the police in the bank where they have funds, mostly now in the Central Bank of Nigeria because of the Single Treasury Account. 

“So for police funds that are domiciled in the CBN, it is possible to garnish that account and the court will then order the bank to remit the judgment sum.

"Under the National Human Rights Commission Amendment Act, the commissioner has power to also award damages and compensation to victims of rights violation."

Also adding his voice to the issue, rights activist and former federal lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, told SaharaReporters that the killing of innocent Nigerians during this period of lockdown was worrisome and something urgent needed to be done to address the matter.

He said, “Our security apparatuses can’t differentiate between coup curfew and Coronavirus lockdown.

“If its justifiable to brutalise and abuse people to enforce the lockdown, then the moral aspect of its necessity is lost.

“Enlightenment and civility should continue to be used to enforce the lockdown rather than force and fear."

He called on families of persons, who lost their lives to seek full compensation.

“The families of persons killed during the enforcement of the lockdown must be compensated,” Sani said. 

BREAKING: Two Policemen Killed At Atiku's Factory In Adamawa

The officers, a Deputy Superintendent of Police named Gbenga, and an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Yohanna, were said to have been killed while on an operation at RicoGado, an animal feeds factory.