By The Chairman of Uvwie Local Government Council, Delta State, Hon Ramson Onoyake says his council has commenced the arrest and prosecution of violators of the face mask order by the government.
He stated this on Thursday in Effurun, Delta State when he led a team of Taskforce to arrest over 40 persons around Uvwie metropolis and ordered for their trial and prosecution for violating the order of compulsory use of face masks and other measures put in place to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus by Delta state Government.
Speaking to a correspondent who monitored the exercise at different locations within the local Government, reports that the violators will be prosecuted by the Mobile Court put in place by the Delta state Government.
The arrests were being made by a team of combined Taskforce led by the council Chairman who personally mounted the highway to fish out violators.
Commercial drivers who violated the directives on a number of passengers to be carried were also arrested as well as those carrying passengers without face masks.
The Delta state house of Assembly recently passed into law the compulsory use of face mask order and warned that anybody going outside his/her home must wear a face mask or risk being arrested.
“Governor Okowa in his address while relaxing the lockdown quoted under quarantine act that the number of passengers that could be carried by commercial buses and taxis as part of effort to maintain social distancing, but many of the commercial drivers especially the tricycle operators also known as Keke have not been adhering to it.
Hon. Ramson Onoyake also sited a part of the recently passed bill saying “Failure to wear a mask while in a Public place is a criminal offence.
“Section 6(1)(b) as read with section 11 of the Regulations. If found guilty you can be liable to a fine of N20,000/= or imprisonment for 6 months or both. Failure to wear a mask in a public or private transport and public transport operators Section 5(4) must wear mask.
“We won’t relent, we will assist the police to arrest violators,” Onoyake stressed.
