No fewer than 20 offenders of Covid-19 protocols might have to spend their Christmas behind bars as they were arrested and charged to Court on Christmas eve in the Nigerian capital city, Abuja.
The 20 lawbreakers, made up of 18 male and two female, were dragged before Chief Magistrate Raphael Egbe of the FCT Mobile Court, sitting at the Eagle Square Abuja, and prosecuted on a one-count charge of violating Covid-19 protocol by not wearing face masks.
The offenders were arrested across the city from the popular UTC Shopping Complex in Area 10 and Mug Plaza, Area 2 Shopping Complex and Garki International Market, among other places.
They were however given an option of fines ranging from N1000 to N5000, depending on their demeanour and conduct during and after the arrests.
Head, Publicity and Enlightenment, FCT Covid-19 Taskforce, Comrade Ikharo Attah who led the operations disclosed while speaking to journalists that about seven parks were shut within two days of the exercise.
Regretting that one of his men, an officer of the Nigeria Police Force, was badly wounded on his nose by hoodlums who were attempting to obstruct taskforce operation and escape arrests, Ikharo appealed to the public to always obey the protocols for their health and their families.
He added that, “the enforcement has been on for some days now. On Wednesday, we had a night operation and we had a very tough time. One of our Police officers was attacked and badly injured in the nose and he’s recuperating in the hospital now”.
Referring to the court session at the Eagle Square, Ikharo said: “What you are seeing here is a Mobile Court, currently sitting, a day to Christmas and we’ve so far prosecuted about 20 persons today – four from the parks and 16 of them from contraventions of health protocols or of face masks.
“We are just begging people in the FCT to please comply. We are not happy doing this but to save ourselves, we have to do it.
“Everyone is home, but we are here doing this. We ought to be at home resting. If everyone puts face masks, we won’t have to be on the streets – burn fuel, carry personnel and taken out of our families to come and do this is very unpleasant for us, but we have to do it to save people”.
Spending Christmas in jail
However, dispelling fears by some of the offenders that they would spend their Christmas in jail, Ikharo said: “It depends on the judge. The judge has fined them and some of them are paying the fines. In the second wave, these are the first time offenders here, but subsequently whatever the judge agrees.
“But from what I am seeing here, they are paying the fines and all are going.”
He also explained that the fine was not up to N20000naira as it was being peddled.
“No the fine is nothing close to that. Some of them that are very violent, the judge can get angry and fine them high, but the purpose is not to make people pay high fine, it is to make them comply so that we can flatten the curve and go back to our normal life”, he added.
Nneka Ukachukwu
