As part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, President Buhari this evening, imposed a 8pm to 6am nationwide curfew. The curfew is to begin on Monday, May 4th.

The President announced this during his nationwide broadcast this evening, April 27. In his words

Based on the above and in line with the recommendations of the  Presidential Task Force on COVID nineteen, the various Federal Government committees that have reviewed socio-economic matters and the Nigeria Governors Forum, I have approved a phased andgradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States effective from Monday, 4th May, 2020.

However, this will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors.

Furthermore, new nationwide measures are to be introduced as

follows,

a. There will be an overnight curfew from 8pm to 6am. This means all movements will be prohibited during this period except for

b. There will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travel

c. Partial and controlled interstate movement of goods and services essential services; until further notice will be allowed for the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers, and

d. We will strictly ensure the mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing.

Furthermore, we also discussed how to safely transport food items from rural production areas to industrial processing zones and ultimately, to the key consumption centers. earlier, these steps were necessary and personal hygiene. Furthermore, the restrictions on social and religious gatherings shall remain in place. State Governments, corporate organisations and philanthropists are encouraged to support the production of cloth masks for citizens.

For the avoidance of doubt, the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States shall remain in place until these new ones come into effect on Monday, 4th May 2020.

The Presidential Task Force shall provide sector specific details to allow for preparations by Governments, businesses and institutions.

In respect to the above are guidelines, State Governors may choose to adapt and expand based on their unique circumstances provided they maintain alignment with the guidelines issued above”