At least 30 footballers have been charged to court for involving in a football match in defiance of the lockdown order imposed on the state, as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, had on Tuesday, April 14th, 2020 ordered a total lockdown of the state for seven-days, starting from April 16, as part of urgent measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

But on Monday, the players took part in a football match in Dala Local Government Area of the state, violating the social distancing and lockdown order.

Deputy Superintendent of Police in Kano Abdullahi Haruna told The PUNCH that the offenders would face the full wrath of the law.

They have been charged to court for violating the orders of the land and they will be arraigned in the coming days,

Haruna told our correspondent.

Already, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Habu Sani, has ordered that the matter be transferred to the State Criminal Intelligence Department for investigation and the suspects will be arraigned soon.

Haruna urged the youths in the state to respect the lockdown order, practice social distancing and avoid playing football to prevent the spread of COVID-19, adding that the command had intensified patrol in the metropolis and other parts of the state to enforce compliance with the lockdown order.

Anyone found on the streets playing football will be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law,

he added.

He also called on the communities in the state to continue to cooperate with the police and other security agencies, and remain law abiding.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.