Nigeria President Buhari says lockdown will remain as long as necessary

Nigeria President Buhari urges Nigerians to endure the lockdown saying there’s no known way of defeating the pandemic yet.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the ongoing restriction of movement in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja will last as long as scientists and medical advisers find it necessary.

In a bid to curtail the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria, President Buhari on Sunday, March 29, 2020, announced a lockdown in two states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement on Saturday, April 11, 2020, Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the president quoted Buhari as saying that the lockdown is a major attempt at mitigating the spread of the virus in the country.

He said, “We realize that today, there will be sons and daughters unable to visit their parents, and elders that are isolated from young ones. And there will be those who live day-to-day, eating as they earn, who face real and present suffering.

“No elected government could ask more of the citizens of the country that elected them than today we ask of you. But we must ask you — once more — to observe restrictions on movement where they are in place, and follow the instructions of our scientists and medical advisers: stay home, wash your hands, save lives.

“The freedoms we ask you to willingly forsake today will only last as long as our scientific advisers declare they are necessary. But they are essential — world over — to halt and defeat the spread of this virus.”

Buhari also urged Nigerians to endure the lockdown saying there’s no known way of defeating the pandemic yet.