The Lagos State COVID-19 Taskforce has sealed a factory in Ikeja and brothel in Agege, among others, for violating the two-week stay-at-home directive.
The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, who spoke on the exercise, stated that the enforcement was carried out following a tip-off received from good-spirited individuals that some firms directed their workers to resume duties, despite the stay-at-home order announced by the Federal and State governments.
He described the non-compliance of some organisations as unpatriotic, noting that the essence of the directive was to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos.
In his words, “In following one of the tip-offs to the factory of PSN, a Chinese packaging firm, the team discovered that some Chinese nationals and their Nigerian workers were inside the factory while production was ongoing, contrary to an earlier claim that the premises was empty. They were immediately directed to stop production before the company was eventually sealed”.
Majola decried a situation where some business owners forced their employees to come to work in clear defiance of a presidential directive, adding that the State Government enforcement team will not be deterred by the antics of some selfish people who are determined to endanger the lives of others through their unbridled greed.
He also disclosed that Jumia, an online marketing warehouse situated at 1B, Surulere Industrial Road, Off Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, was initially sealed by the Taskforce but was, however, reopened on Wednesday, after it was established that its activity/line of production is classified as essential goods/suppliers as enshrined in the infectious Disease Regulation signed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on March 27, 2020.
While revealing that the enforcement team also dislodged a group of over 50 commercial sex workers at Supreme Brothel before sealing off the premises, Mojola warned residents of the area to abstain from patronising such crowded locations to prevent the spread of diseases, especially the lethal Coronavirus.
On her part, the General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe revealed that her agency has been receiving lots of tip-offs from concerned citizens about the activities of some unscrupulous organisations contravening the lockdown directive in the State.
She declared that there is no hiding place for violators of government directives because the enforcement team is working round the clock to ensure total compliance, urging every Lagosian to abide by the stay-at-home directive in support of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.
