The Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has said criminals are abusing facemasks by using them to conceal their identity while committing crimes.
He, however, stated that COVID-19 was blown out of proportion in Nigeria, adding that Nigerians have been living with other diseases deadlier than COVID-19.
Yahaya Bello spoke at the Nigerian Media Merit Awards in Lokoja, the state capital.
He said, “In fact, criminals were even using the face mask to disguise. They close their faces and lodge in hotels. They go to places, so you can’t identify them.
“I was made to understand that coronavirus was less than one per cent lethal; even ordinary fever is more lethal than coronavirus.”
He also stated that the state government took proactive steps to sensitise the citizens on the pandemic.
He said, “We continued until when we were almost compelled to lock down and that was the turning point. When you see an enemy coming, I have not seen who the enemy is or who they are, how armed they are, and then I would tell my people to go into hiding, die of hunger, die of deprivation, and what have you.
“When I see the enemy and I see the weapon they are holding and I don’t have a superior weapon to counter them then I will know the decision to take for my people. I will not lock my people down because of coronavirus because we have had incidences of the outbreak of more dangerous diseases in Kogi State.
“We have Lassa fever, we have yellow fever, we have communities where certain substances were consumed and we have had cause to control all that in Kogi State without blowing it out of proportion. So, why should I lock my people down?”
“Locking our people down would bring a lot of harm; it could be economic, there would be security implication; in fact, it could even lead to corruption.”
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