President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the Covid-19 Regulations, 2020, which declares Covid-19 a dangerous infectious disease.
By the regulations, the measures taken by the president as announced in his nationwide broadcast on Sunday are legal.
The actions include the cessation of movements in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as a step towards preventing the spread of coronavirus.
The statement announcing the signing of the regulations as released by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, reads:
“In exercise of the powers conferred on him by Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Quarantine Act (CAP Q2 LFN 2004), and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, signed the Covid-19 Regulations, 2020, which declared Covid-19 a dangerous infectious disease.
“The Regulations, effective March 30, 2020, also gave legal backing to the various measures outlined in the President’s National Broadcast on March 29, 2020, such as Restriction/Cessation of Movement in Lagos, FCT and Ogun State and others toward containing the spread of the pandemic in the country.
“In addition, to ensure that Nigerians can still perform on-line transactions and use ATMs whilst observing these restrictions, exemption is granted financial system and money markets to allow very skeletal operations in order to keep the system in light operations during the pendency of these regulations.”
