Corona trials

 Editorial

There was a cause for celebration, but the party went against the government’s order on social gathering in the face of the coronavirus crisis.  The Lagos State government had banned gatherings of more than 20 people to check the spread of COVID-19.

The trial of celebrity actress Funke Akindele, and her husband Abdul Rasheed Bello, for hosting more than 20 guests at a party at their residence in Amen Estate, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, on April 4, shows that the government is serious about enforcing its restriction order.

Akindele was said to have organised the party to celebrate her husband’s birthday.  It is unclear whether her husband, who posted a video of the party online, and thereby attracted the attention of the police, did so defiantly or uncritically.

They both pleaded guilty, and Akindele was apologetic.  But they deserved to be punished because they broke the law.  Chief Magistrate Yewande Aje-Afunwa fined them N100, 000 each. In addition, the couple are to do community service for 14 days and visit 10 important public places in the state to educate the public on the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of the government’s restriction orders. They were also told to provide the names and contact details of their party guests.

A politician and former governorship candidate in Lagos State, Babatunde Gbadamosi, his wife, and a popular musician, Afeez Fashola (aka Naira Marley), who were among the guests at the birthday party, were also arraigned. It is a cause for concern that these individuals, who should know better, attended the party.

Remarkably, the government withdrew the charges against them on three conditions. “The first condition is that they should individually offer a personal apology to the president and governor; the second is that they must give an undertaking to comply with the COVID-19 regulations, and the third, they must go into self-isolation for 14 days and report back to the court, “ Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Yhaqub Oshoala, said.

It is disappointing that such notable individuals expected to set an example in this time of the coronavirus by obeying the Federal Government’s lockdown order, which applies to Lagos and Ogun states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and the Lagos State government’s order on social gathering, failed to do so by organising and attending the birthday party.

Sadly, the problem of disobedience to the orders aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic is bigger than its manifestation at Akindele’s party.  In the same week that Akindele, her husband, and some of their party guests were arraigned, a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos sentenced 51 persons to one month community service for flouting the social distancing order of the Lagos State government. The violators included 34 persons arrested by the police while exercising outdoors at Gbagada and 17 persons arrested at Ajegunle, both in Lagos.

Read Also: Coronavirus, Social Media and imperative of responsibility

The trial and sentencing of well-known individuals as well as little-known persons for going against government anti-coronavirus orders is a positive development which shows that no one is above the law.

Visible persons, like Nollywood star Akindele and music idol Naira Marley, should use their celebrity to communicate the anti-coronavirus message to the public.

It is commendable that the musician was reported to have undertaken “to join the Lagos State campaign against the spread of the COVID-19 by making a free audio-visual publication towards the campaign against COVID-19,” in a letter to the court.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as at April 13, there were 343 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, 91 recoveries and 10 deaths, up from 131 cases, eight recoveries and two deaths, as at March 30, when the federal lockdown started in Lagos, Ogun and FCT.

The rising cases of the novel disease show why people, at all levels of society, must obey government orders, meant to ensure they are safe.