COVID-19 Second Wave: 566 Arrested, 502 Convicted, 32 Clubs Shut In Lagos

No fewer than 566 persons have been arrested and 502 convicted for breaching COVID-19 Regulations in Lagos, since the advent of the pandemic’s second wave.

The Nation learnt that 32 clubs and event centres have also been shut by the Lagos State Safety Commission including the Event Hall of Eko Club, which was closed down last Tuesday.

It was gathered that Lagos prosecutors have also begun requesting presiding magistrates to ensure that anyone apprehended for breaching COVID-19 Regulations is made to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test.

These and more were the contents of a January 14 letter from the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, seen by The Nation Saturday.

In it, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN, addressed the concerns of a lawyer and member of the Body of Benchers, Mr Kunle Uthman, over the pandemic’s second wave in Lagos.

Uthman, in a January 13 letter to the AG, accused the Lagos State Government of inadvertently aiding the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that things were “business as usual” in the state.

He alleged that the state was failing to enforce safety protocols and that government officials were complicit in flouting COVID-19 preventive protocols.

Uthman referenced a “funeral outing party… held with grandiose fanfare without social distancing and failure to enforce the wearing of face masks,” at a “prestigious” club hall in Surulere with capacity in excess of 2,500 persons.

“As it is, day-by-day, these large parties are being organized and attended by even highly placed LASG officials,” he added.

But in his response, the government described some of Uthman’s conclusions as” misconceptions and inaccuracies which need clarification.”