The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Wednesday released over 40 protesters who were arrested by the joint security personnel at Unity Fountain for violating the COVID-19 protocols.
The protesters were arrested at the Unity Fountain venue of the #RevolutionNow protest and brought before FCT Mobile Court for prosecution.
However, Magistrate Idayat Akanni, who was to preside over the case had several other cases in other court and couldn’t sit.
Speaking on behalf of the FCT Ministerial Task Team on COVID-19, Comrade Ikharo Attah said they can protest and still be alive and those enforcing will do same and be alive.
Attah advised them to always conform to all COVID-19 protocols to avoid the spread of Coronavirus.
He said that the protesters violated the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 guidelines of social and physical distancing and most of them were seen without face masks.
According to him “About 40 of them have all been released and been tasked to always conform with COVID-19 whenever they are out to protest. Saying, you have the right to association, right to protest, a right to freedom of speech and expression but as you do all of this you must always conform to COVID-19 health protocols.
“The enforcement team went out in our normal routine operation and this time around, we made some arrests of some persons who came to protest and it is very clear that this is a democratic nation and everyone has the right to protest, to voice out but this must be done within the rules that governs the country and one of such rules is to obey the issues of COVID-19, so they were brought to the Mobil court in line with COVID-19 violations.
“When there is protest, social distancing is very difficult to observe, so when they came to the court, the magistrate had several other cases in other courts and couldn’t sit. And in our own wisdom, as person’s with listening hears, we talked to them, and it was agreed by all parties that they should go and observed all the laid down COVID-19 protocols before they will be released and they agreed to that do that.”