COVID-19 Lockdown: Timi Frank Warns Against Harassment Of Citizens By Military, Police, Others

…Urges security agencies to be civil in approach

A political activist and former Deputy National Publicity
Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on
Thursday, condemned reports of harassment of citizens by some military officers
and other security agents enforcing the lockdown directive of the Federal
Government.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in a nationwide broadcast
ordered a stay-at-home for residents of Lagos, Ogun and the FCT in a bid to
contain the spread of the COVID-19.

Frank, in a statement in Abuja, described any form of
harassment against Nigerians at the present moment as one suffering too many.

He urged the agents of the military, police and other
security agencies enforcing the present lockdown across the country to be civil
in their approach in order not to unduly increase the burden of hunger already
being borne by poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

He noted that the reported cases of assault  against Nigerians on essential duties like
Journalists, Doctors and telecomunication staff in Lagos and Abuja have no
place in a civilized setting like Nigeria.

He noted that it amounted to an aberration of grave
proportion in the first place to deploy military personnel into the streets to
enforce a stay-at-home order.

The Bayelsa-born political activist, insisted that apart
from workers on essential duties  duly
exempted by the President in his broadcast, there are countless Nigerians that
might need urgent medical attention in the affected areas.

“The military should have deployed their energy to defeat
Boko Haram, bandits and all other criminal tendencies in the North-east in
particular and Nigeria in general whose sole reason for being on the streets is
to secure their daily bread.

“It should be noted that poverty is ravaging the land and
the saying that ‘an hungry man is an angry man’ might apply if there is no
modicum of civility in handling the situation by the military and other
security agencies.

“If the government actually wants the people to stay at
home, amenities like stable electricity, water and other necessary palliatives
must be provided.

“Even as poor as Rwanda is, President Paul Kagame has been
able to provide enough comfort for the citizens to enable them stay at home
without any resort to the use of force.

“Why can’t the Federal Government make citizens comfortable
for once?”

Frank, however appealed to citizens to strictly abide by the
stay-at-home order in other to speed up the containment of the deadly virus.

“Let’s take the inconveniences of the moment as worthy
sacrifices to safeguard our lives and effectively contain the spread of the
dreaded Coronavirus pandemic,” Frank said.

He called for more sensitization of the populace to the
dangers of COVID-19 and

prayed for a quick end to the dire global challenge.

Signed:

Comrade Timi Frank

Political Activist

Abuja.