Health personnel in Plateau State have been put on the alert following the arrest of nine passengers who beat the security checkpoint both in Lagos and Plateau on Saturday to enter Jos metropolis.
How the people beat the security agencies in Lagos and headed for the Plateau border still remains a mystery. After their arrest, officials of the mobile court established for such offences at West of Mines, promptly called the attention of the Ministry of Health.
On arrival at the court, the medical team quickly did preliminary checks on the nine suspects.
They admitted that they were commercial motorcyclists in Lagos since February this year but that when the situation got tight, they decided to head back home.
Speaking on behalf of the suspects, Ibrahim Danladi said they left Lagos since Monday last week, but that their vehicle developed mechanical fault hence their late entry into the state.
However, the ministry slammed charges on them before the court under Section 114 of the State Law that prescribed punishment for such violation.The prosecuting counsel, Sabo Longji, urged the court to remand them in an isolation centre for a period the court deemed necessary.
In their joint judgement, Justices Roseline Baraje and Richard Selkur agreed with the submission of the prosecuting counsel and directed that the defendants be confined to an isolation centre for 14 days, starting from the day of their arrival, under the watchful eyes of the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Nimkong Lar.
Similarly, the police in Nasarawa have arrested the Acting Registrar of Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, Mukhtar Wakeel, and the Overseer of Lafia North Development Area, Alhaji Suleman Agyo, for violating the restriction of public and social gathering in the state.
The two top government officials were arrested for attending a wedding of the in Lafia on Friday. Agyo, who wedded his second wife in Lungun Wambai, Lafia, had Wakeel Muktar as his guest among others.
The Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Abdulkarim Kana, who confirmed the arrest, said the proclamation by the governor was binding on everybody, no matter how highly-placed in the society.He, however, said the violators would remain in detention till the court resumes and would be charged to court immediately.
Meanwhile, churches in Lafia observed this year’s Easter celebration on a low key following the state government’s ban on religious gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The government has continued to appeal to citizens to abide by the order and preventive measures, even as no case had been reported in the state.