Nigerian govt cancels meeting of Lake Chad leaders over COVID-19

The Federal Government has cancelled the meeting of heads of states and governments of the Chad Basin slated for next week in Abuja.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who announced this at a media briefing on Monday, said the cancellation was part of measures being taken by the government to check the spread of the coronavirus that had killed over 12, 000 people in 62 countries across the globe.

The minister also said the government was prepared to bring the full weight of the law on religious leaders who continue to flout the directive on public gatherings.

Nigeria recorded its first casualty of the Coronavirus pandemic after the ex-Managing Director of the Pipeline and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), Suleiman Achimugu, died earlier on Monday at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) also confirmed five fresh cases of the Coronavirus in Abuja, Lagos and Edo States.

The latest discoveries bring to 35 the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country.

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