President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he will be obeying the directive of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar that all Muslims in the country should observe Eid-el-Fitr prayers at home.
He also asked politicians, religious leaders, top government officials and children not to visit him during the celebration so as not to spread COVID-19.
According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday, the decisions were in compliance with the protocols of social distancing to check the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Also, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, felicitated the Muslim ummah in the country on this year’s Eid-el-Fitr.
The police boss, however, reminded the citizens that the COVID-19 prevention regulation orders, including the inter state movement restriction, national curfew and prohibition of mass socio-religious gatherings by the Federal Government in Lagos, Ogun and Kano states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and restrictions by governments in some states of the federation were still in force.
He therefore implored the citizens to observe the Eid celebrations bearing in mind the unusual times occasioned by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as the force would leave no stone unturned towards the enforcement of the orders.
The IGP assured the nation of adequate security during and after the celebrations, noting that proactive and robust anti-crime measures, including deployments of tactical and intelligence assets of the force were already in place to prevent any untoward incidents in the country.
The Sultan of Sokoto, has also told district heads in Sokoto State to ensure that Eid-el-Fitr prayers are held only at Juma’at mosques in their domains as against the normal praying ground.
Abubakar said the directive was to enable the people maintain the social distancing measure advised by professionals in order to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the state.