A small village in Mabushi area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the epicentre of community spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria’s capital, according to Chairman Ministerial Task Force Enforcement, Attah Ikharo.
Mr Ikharo, who rose to prominence for his strict and fearless enforcement of lockdown in the FCT, including religious centres, made this known when he appeared on KAFTAN TV’s programme, “Polity” on Thursday.
“Not too good one coming out from Mabushi where we are getting most of the spread now, ” he said.
“Mabushi village beside the Ministry of Works and Housing is not looking too good and I’m hoping that something quickly can be done to that small community.”
Mabushi Cadastral Zone is strategic due to its proximity to the city centre. It is adjacent to Wuse 2 and Utako districts, less than five minutes drive to the heart of the city.
As prevalent in the FCT, it has a neighbourhood, where dwellers are mostly low-income earners, squatting in stopgap buildings. Basic amenities are mere fantasies.
While it isn’t clear how the index case got infected, local transmission is apparent owing to the poor hygiene being practised and the overall living standard in the area.
Fortunately, the Task Force has managed to keep the virus away from Mpape, heralded as the biggest slum in the FCT. “We also got at Gishiri, but none at Mpape, ” Mr Ikharo added.
The FCT is four days away from completing the second phase of the two weeks lockdown as declared by the Federal Government. With 119 cases, it trails only Lagos State for infections.
However, the gap may ameliorate should Abuja residents ignore social distancing measures put in place. Most recently, authorities set up Mobile Courts for defaulters and Mr Ikharo admitted the enormity of his job keeping people in their homes, especially in slums like the one in Mabushi.
“Those in the city centre have cooperated very well. Those in the suburbs haven’t done as much as those in the city centre, ” he said.
“Our first task was to actually tackle religious organizations. At every point, the problem metamorphosed. When you are tackling one, another surface.
“At first, everyone compiled. Schools were shut down, markets and religious centres too. Later churches and mosques started meeting. We had gone to shut down some. In one of the occasion, we arrested a Pastor; on another, an Imam. Some have applauded us while others criticised, saying ‘we are touching men of God'”.
