Coronavirus: FG counters Wike on arrest of pilots over lockdown orders

- The minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, has countered Governor Wike for ordering the arrest of the pilots who flew oil workers into Rivers state

- Governor Wike had ordered the arrest of the pilots over alleged violation of the lockdown order imposed over the coronavirus pandemic

- Sirika, however, said the commissioner of police in the state and the commander of the Air Force Base in Port Harcourt would have to answer for alleged incompetence

The federal government has frowned at the arrest of the pilots who flew oil workers into Rivers state on Tuesday, April 7.

The minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, said the commissioner of police in the state and the commander of the Air Force Base in Port Harcourt would have to answer for alleged incompetence, The Nation reports.

The newspaper reports that Sirika stated in his reaction to the arrest in Port Harcourt that the federal government would take necessary and constitutional actions on the matter.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Nyesom Wike on Tuesday ordered the arrest of two helicopter pilots who allegedly violated the lockdown order by flying in expatriates after all routes leading to the state were closed.

Their arrest came after the state government issued an Executive Order closing all borders to curb the spread of coronavirus in the south-south state.

The two pilots have been remanded in prison by a Port Harcourt magistrate court.

The governor further said he was willing to testify against anyone who disobeys the state’s border closure regulations.

The pilots were operating essential oil and gas services, as approved by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s notice to airmen, according to the Flight Crew Association of Nigeria.

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Meanwhile, Governor Wike has also ordered the closure of all schools in Rivers state including the tertiary institutions amid rising coronavirus tension.

The governor gave the directives on Friday morning, March 20, through a statement by his media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu.

Wike also placed restrictions on religious activities across the state, saying the decision was taken in the interest of the people as more cases of coronavirus were recorded in the country in the last forty-eight hours.

On efforts to curb the virus, Governor Wike said his government has set up awareness committee to sensitize people about the deadly disease through social and broadcast media.

In another report, despite the directive given by the Lagos and Ogun state government to halt all gatherings or meetings of more than fifty people in other to curb the spread of coronavirus, some Sunday service gatherings on Sunday, March 22, showed that two churches failed to follow the directive.

The Winners Chapel, Cannan Land, and Dunamis in Abuja held their Sunday service with more than fifty people in attendance.

In videos streamed live to their members across the world, it could be seen that the congregation in both churches was more than the number required for gatherings by the Lagos and Ogun state governments.

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Source: Legit.ng