Police to set up mobile court in Enugu for COVID-19 violations

The Enugu State Police Command says it will set up a COVID-19 mobile court to ensure strict compliance with directives of federal and state governments to check the spread of the pandemic.

Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmad Abdurrahman, made this known on Friday during a meeting with leaders of markets in the state on how to ensure compliance of residents with COVID-19 directives.

Abdurrahman said that the setting up of a mobile court to ensure compliance has become necessary following the daily rise in COVID-19 cases in the state and the need to protect every resident.

He noted that it is regrettable that the state COVID-19 cases were very low initially with the state recording only two after about a month, after which it has risen to the level of a score daily.

The police boss said the meeting was called to interact with stakeholders on how to ensure compliance by residents.

“The police command can only do little without your active collaboration; even as we know that the various market leaders are critical stakeholders to the overall security of the state.

“Before now, the command had embarked on massive persuasion and enlightenment on the benefits of compliance to the COVID-19 safety directives to all. But, we are no longer going to plead again on the matter.

“I want us to brainstorm to ensure that collectively we come up with new modalities to ensure our people comply with the federal and state governments directive, especially on wearing face masks and physical distance,” he said.

Earlier, a member of Ogbete Main Market Caretaker Committee, Chief Emmanuel Eke, complained of the low compliance COVID-10 safety protocols.

Eke suggested that the best way of ensuring compliance was by the police enforcing as well as setting up a punitive mobile court for offenders.

Also the caretaker Chairman of Coal Camp Market, Chief Christian Ngwuoke, supported the call for a police back-up mobile court to punish offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.

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Ngwuoke explained that some people put on the mask in order to pass entry point into the markets and thereafter remove the masks upon entering the markets.

Chairman of Kenyatta Main Market, Chief Chinwiuba Igwesi, urged the police to check the holding of unauthorised meetings that go against the rules of social and physical distancing in markets.