Lockdown: Osinbajo explains legality of Buhari’s order

TRACKING___Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has described President Muhammadu Buhari’ s restrictions of movement order in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun as legal and a proactive measure to contain the spread of the deadly Covid-19.

Osinbajo said that the restriction order was not only legal but a very relevant and proactive step that is backed by law, adding that the constitution empowers the president to make such declaration.

Responding to questions at the Google Hangout programme organised by HACK COVID-19 Call Centre – a private sector initiative supporting Nigeria’s battle against the pandemic, Osinbajo said questioning the legality of the presidential order restricting movements in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States is quite unnecessary.

The Vice President said: “Regarding the legality of the shutdowns announced by the President on Sunday, I think it is entirely legal. These steps are proactive, very relevant, important and backed by law.

“I am not so sure some of the people who have commented on the issue have come across the Quarantine Act. There is a Quarantine Act of 1926, it’s been published in all of the Laws of Nigeria, every edition of the Laws of Nigeria, it is there.”

Osinbajo insisted that the legality of the shutdowns announced by the President is not debatable, going by the situation in the country and the purpose for the declaration.

He added: “Questioning the legality of the presidential order restricting movements in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States is quite unnecessary as the action taken is not only important but very well backed by extant Nigerian laws.”

Explaining the section of the legislation that empowers the President to order movement restrictions in any part the country, Osinbajo said: “What the Act does is that it allows the President to designate any local area, any part of the country, as a place that may be infected or under the threat of a communicable disease, and he can then make regulations of any kind.

“For instance, he can say, people should not go out; no public gatherings etc. So, it is a regulation that gives the President powers and these powers come from the National Assembly because, of course, it is an act of the National Assembly.”

The Vice President also also explained that by virtue of the constitutional rules, the 1926 Act is deemed to be an Act of the National Assembly.

“So, the President has extensive powers under the Quarantine Act of 1926. Also, governors have extensive powers under the same Quarantine Act,” he added.

Osinbajo, however, urged all interested individuals and groups to personally go through the legislation in order to understand the provisions therein, noting that “it is barely a one page legislation, so it is not particularly difficult to find the relevant provisions and it is not particularly difficult to read, very straightforward. So, the President has all the powers.”

Speaking further about the legal precedent for the President’s ‘no movement order’, Prof. Osinbajo said “many of us are not familiar with the Influenza pandemic that killed several millions around the world in 1918. At that time regulations were made here, very similar to what we have today, although that was under the colonial authorities.”

According to him, the Influenza pandemic was referred to as the Spannish Flu and it killed thousands in Nigeria and millions across the world then.

“They also banned public gatherings, banned gatherings in places of worship then. So, there is even good historical precedence for some of what we are doing today,” the VP said.

Meanwhile, Osinbajo says part of the tasks given to the Economic Sustainability Committee which he chairs, is to develop further palliatives.

According to the vice president, containing the spread of pandemic Coronavirus(COVID-19) and tackling its fallout, is an all Nigeria effort that requires the cooperation of all.

Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Tuesday said that the vice president responded to questions at a Google Hangout on Monday in Abuja.