Borno State Government says it will sanction three imams found conducting Jumma prayers during the lockdown.
Addressing a press conference in Maiduguri, the state Commissioner for Information, Babakura Abba-Jatto, said the imams violated the lockdown measure against COVID-19 by conducting Jumaat.
Abba-Jatto said the Chief Imam of Borno and the Shehu of Borno had been informed of the violation and adequate sanctions would be meted out to the imams.
The commissioner, however, noted that the issue had to be treated with caution so as not to elicit religious violence, considering the culture of the people and the season of Ramadan.
He explained that it was important for everyone to keep to the lockdown, saying “if only one infected person attends the prayers in a mosque with 1,000 people, only God knows how many people will also be infected.”
Also speaking at the briefing, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Salihu Kwaya-Bura, said in view of the Ramadan fasting, the state task force on COVID-19 would grant a window of time to grinding machine operators and food vendors to operate so that people could have food to break their fast.