A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, has called for the release of inmates and conversion of prisons into quarantine centers.
He proposed that the centers be used for patients who have tested positive for the Corona Virus.
According to Vanguardngr, the lawmaker advised that they inmates be set free for the meantime but with systems in place to retrieve them when the pandemic is conquered.
His words:
“The impact of the virus, will be worse on large number of people in an enclosure. Nigerian prisons are overcrowded and notorious for poor hygiene standards.
The spread of the virus under such environment, will be rapid and deadly. As a matter of urgency, the Government should carry out proper documentation of prisoners to ensure their return to prison after the end of the epidemic”.
The lawmaker also called for reopening of land borders for pharmaceuticals to gain entry with the required drugs for Corona Virus, while advised government to ban interstate travels.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered the immediate release of suspects arrested over minor offences in the state, as part of preventive measures against coronavirus.
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