No fewer than 50 people have been arrested by officials of the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 at a night club in Ilorin, the state capital.
The Chairman of Medical Advisory Committee on COVID-19 in the state, Dr Femi Oladiji, disclosed this on Saturday at the state’s quarantine centre in Ilorin where the suspects were kept.
He explained that the operation was led by the state Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Technical Committee on COVID-19, Mr Kayode Alabi.
“Around 1:00am, we got information that some people were clubbing at Kwara Hotel.
“The deputy governor, in my accompany and some security officials, raided the club and we arrested so many boys and girls within the age range of 20 to 30,” Oladiji was quoted as saying in a statement by Rafiu Ajakaye, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and spokesman for the technical committee.
He added, “Around 2:00am, we brought them to the Hajj camp (Quarantine Centre). We made them comfortable overnight, and early this morning, we took their samples for COVID-19.
“The arrest, which may lead to prosecution, is to send the signal that we cannot tolerate such conduct. Violations will henceforth attract a strong response from the government.”
The commissioner insisted that the ban on night clubbing remained in force to prevent the further spread of the virus in the state.
He stressed that the action of the clubbers violated the Kwara State Infectious Diseases Regulations, 2020, as well as the government’s subsisting ban on congregation beyond 20 people.
Oladiji, however, noted that this excluded places of worship where preventive measures have been put in place in agreement with religious leaders.
According to him, the government is considering other measures, including enforcement of the use of face mask in public to flatten the curve of transmission of the virus.
“The government will take appropriate actions against any officials of the hotel found to have authorised the violation of the existing ban to send the signal that such behaviour will not be tolerated,” the commissioner said.
By Abdulhakeem Garba