Nigeria: Buhari announces lockdown in major cities

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a two-week lockdown in the major cities of Lagos and Abuja in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. 

The restrictions will take effect from 23:00 on Monday and will also apply to Ogun state, which borders Lagos. 

President Buhari has instructed all citizens to stay at home, all businesses and offices to close, and for only food shops, hospitals and other essential service providers to remain open. 

Travel to and from the cities will be banned.

The president also announced a special fund of $40 million would be made available to help deal with the pandemic, which has so far resulted in 97 confirmed cases and one death in Nigeria.

Africa has not been as hard hit by the virus as most other continents, but the number of infections is on the rise, with the WHO confirming 3,217 cases on Monday morning. 

Photo: Getty Images