Lagos government shut Agege mosque over attack on taskforce enforcing lockdown
The Lagos State Government has shut a mosque in Agege local government area where worshippers attacked officials of the COVID-19 Taskforce enforcing the ban on public gatherings as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.
The Senior Special Assistant to Lagos Governor, Jubril Gawat, in a Twitter post revealed that the Agege local government authority locked down the worship center on Thursday for flouting the order on public gatherings.
The state officials were attacked by the worshippers who had gathered in their hundreds to observe 8pm prayer at the popular Moshalashi Alhaja on Tuesday. The gathering is in defiance to the order asking worship centers to observe social distancing in Lagos, the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria with over 100 confirmed cases.
“Agege LGA officials have sealed up the Agege Central Mosque in the area for violating the state government’s order on a religious gathering in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. They used the opportunity to disinfect the area,” Gawat tweeted.
General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and leader of the Taskforce, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, who had earlier condemned the attack, said the State Government will not hesitate to sanction violators to serve as a deterrent to others.
Narrating the incident, Fasawe said: “Drama ensued when some of the Muslim youths sighted the team and became aggressive, unruly and started to attack the team. Others in the mosque, numbering about 300 rushed out chanting ALLAHU AKBAR and joined them in the attack by throwing stones at the vehicles. All entreaties to talk to the Imam failed as the youth were persistent. But the Police escort rose to the occasion by curbing further attacks and ensuring the safety of the team.”
A similar scenario played out in Katsina state last Saturday when some youths attacked Kusada Divisional Police Station in Kusada local government area following the arrest of their leader who defied the order suspending large gatherings in the state by conducting Juma’at prayer on Friday.
According to the police, the youths went on rampage over the arrest of their leader and set the police station and the DPO’s Quarters ablaze.
