The Chief Iman of JIWIS Central Mosque in Gudi, Nasarawa State, Imam Khalud Ibrahim, on Sunday, sent out worshippers without face masks from the Mosque during prayers to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the Nasarawa state government had on May 19, lifted the ban on religious gathering for two weeks with conditions that worshipers must use of face mask and maintain physical distancing at worship centres.
The government also directed religious leaders to provide water for handwashing as well as a hand sanitizer in order to contain further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
It should be noted that the state has so far recorded 38 cases of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Sule was among worshippers, who observed prayers at the Gudi Central Mosque. The Imam explained that his decision to send out and bar those without face masks from the Mosque was in compliance with the government directives to contain COVID-19.
He urged Muslims to always be obedient to God and leaders at all levels for the overall peace and development of the country.
Ibrahim attributed the ills in the society to disobedience and urged the people to seek God’s intervention for remedy.“God will answer our prayers over the killings and other vices in the country if we collectively turn to Him for a solution,” the Imam said.
According to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 7, 526 cases have been confirmed in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A breakdown of the 7,526 confirmed cases shows that Lagos State has so far reported 3,357 cases, followed by Kano – 883, FCT – 468, Katsina – 308, Borno – 250, Jigawa – 241,Bauchi – 232, Oyo – 233, Ogun – 219, Kaduna – 184, Gombe – 145, Edo – 172, Sokoto – 116, Rivers – 89, Zamfara – 76, Kwara – 75, Plateau – 77, Yobe – 47, Osun – 42, Nasarawa – 38, Kebbi – 32, Delta – 31, Adamawa – 27, Niger – 26, Ondo – 23, Ebonyi – 22, Akwa Ibom – 21, Ekiti – 20, Taraba – 18, Enugu – 18 Bayelsa – 8, Imo – 7, Abia – 7, Anambra – 8, and Benue – 5.
So far, 2174 persons have recovered and have been discharged while 221 have lost their lives to the infection.
