12th April, 2020
The two-week lockdown introduced as part of government’s measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 into Abia resumed on Sunday after it was relaxed from Friday to 2p.m on Sunday.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resumption of the lockdown, which is expected to end on Wednesday, recorded partial compliance by residents.
A NAN correspondent, who monitored the situation in Umuahia metropolis and its environs, reports that although commercial vehicles and tricycles were off the roads, private motorists moved about almost unhindered.
Consequently, many people, especially those who claimed to have forgotten about the resumption of the lockdown, were seen walking long distances to their destinations.
Some officials of the Umuahia North and Umuahia South Local Government Areas mounted checkpoints at strategic locations to enforce the order.
Military personnel were at their duty posts at the entry points into the state capital, while operatives of the police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were seen with patrol vans moving round the town.
The spokesman for NSCDC, Mr Ndukwe Agu, said that the corps lacked the necessary logistics for full deployment of its personnel.
Agu said that the command employed a special strategy to enforce the order and hoped they would achieve the expected goal.
The state government had said it relaxed the lockdown to enable residents to restock their homes with foodstuffs and attend the Easter church services.
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