Soyinka, others disagree on lockdown of Lagos, Ogun over coronavirus

In a nationwide broadcast on Sunday, President Mohammadu Buhari who based his action on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT and said the order would apply to Ogun State due to its proximity to Lagos.

But in his reaction to the directive, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday described the total lockdown of Lagos and Ogun by President Buhari over the coronavirus as illegal and unconstitutional.

Wole Soyinka, in a statement, said the president did not have the powers to unilaterally lock down a state, as there was no war or emergency.

In the statement titled “Between COVID and Constitutional Encroachment,” Soyinka said “constitutional lawyers and our elected representatives should kindly step into this and educate us, mere lay minds.