An Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court has imposed a fine of forty thousand Naira on a resident of Ekiti State, Vincent Ikechukwu, for failure to use a face mask which has become mandatory in the state since the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ikechukwu, who is the first to face such penalty will also engage in community service for three days in addition to the fine.
The convict was arrested by law enforcement officers while on a bike at Fajuyi area of the city and was charged to court.
He received the punishment for contravening Ekiti State Coronavirus (Prevention of Infection) Regulations recently promulgated into law to prevent the spread of the pandemic in the state.
The charge sheet reads: “That you, Vincent Ikechukwu, at about 11am on the 8th day of May, 2020 at Fajuyi, Ado Ekiti Magisterial District, did without lawful excuse, move without wearing a cloth face mask, thereby violating the provisions of Regulations 4(2)(a) of Regulation 4 punishable under Regulation 12 of the Ekiti State Coronavirus (Prevention of Infection) Regulations 1-4, 2020 made pursuant to Section 8 of the Quarantine Act, Cap Q2, LFN, 2004.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr. B.A. Oluwasanmi, in his judgment held that the Coronavirus constituted a threat to human existence hence it was a gross crime to go against any law aimed at preventing its spread.
Oluwasanmi said the sentence would serve as a deterrent to others and lesson that there was penalty for breaking the law.
Speaking after being convicted, Ikechukwu said the penalty was too much for him to bear even though he admitted that he was guilty for not using a face mask.
He accused the prosecution of intentionally inflicting pain on him.
But the prosecution counsel, Mr. Femi Onipede, said the convict could not claim ignorance of the law compelling the use of face mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the state, saying that the use of face mask had been widely propagated on all media outlets.
