Twenty-five out of 200 suspected violators of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) safety protocols arrested by security agencies and COVID-19 Marshals in Kano State have been sentenced.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje recently inaugurated 2,000 special marshals and enforcement agencies to check the rate of disregard for COVID-19 safety measures.
The Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, said the arrest was in compliance with the Federal Government’s recent law on guidelines and enforcement against COVID-19 in the country.
According to Garba, 102 violators were fined N5,000 each, while 25 others were remanded after their sentence by the mobile courts set up to deal with non-compliance to the protocols.
He said the enforcement measure became necessary to preserve public safety and ensure full compliance with the protocols, particularly the use of face mask.
The Kano State Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) led the enforcements agencies comprising the police, civil defence, Department of State Services (DSS) and the COVID-19 Marshals. Violators are prosecuted at strategic locations where they are are arrested.
The commissioner noted that despite the new wave of COVID-19, which is reportedly tougher than the first, residents were not observing the Infection, Prevention And Control (IPC) protocols.
Garba warned that any resident caught violating the safety protocols would be arraigned before the mobile court. He called for the cooperation of the public and assured that government would continue to improve enlightenment and persuasion to halt rising cases of death and infections in the state.