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“Are we going to invite soldiers to flog people who came to pay their last respect”? – Garba Shehu’s Reaction to non-observance of Social distancing at Abba Kyari’s burial
President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide and Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu has reacted to the outrage that ensued after a large number of people were spotted at the burial ceremony of President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
Nigeria has 542 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including the 19 deaths while hundreds of people have recovered and have been discharged.
The Presidency on Saturday said there was nothing it could do to bar the crowd who thronged the Gudu Cemetery, Abuja to pay their last respects to the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.
Many Nigerians had complained that social distancing rules were violated at the burial.
Speaking to journalists after the event, Garba Shehu stated that there was nothing they could do.
The Presidential aide who insisted that the burial ceremony was a private one, said most of those who turned up for it were not invited and they could not have brought in soldiers to flog and chase them away, because they were there to pay their last respect to the late CoS.
Garba Shehu further revealed that the burial ceremony was delayed in their attempt to maintain social distancing, but had to proceed as more people kept trooping to the cemetery.
He said;
“Was there any invitation for the public to come for the burial? Go back to my Twitter handle and read what I posted. From 10am, when we picked up the body at the airport, we sent a message out that the funeral will be private and that the public should please go and pray for Abba Kyari.
“We also said no condolence visits to the President and family. What can we do? Are we going to invite soldiers to flog people who came to pay their last respect to the man?
“We didn’t invite people. We were trying to move people back and observe social distancing and it was delaying the funeral. We just have to do it because people are not ready to leave. What are we going to do?”
Abba Kyari was confirmed dead, 18 of April 2020 but on 24th of March 2020, Abba Kyari tested positive to Covid-19 after he returned from an official trip in Germany.
Mr Kyari had travelled to Germany on March 7 to meet with officials of Siemens AG in pursuit of the deal recently signed between the Nigerian government and the energy company and returned about a week later. He is suspected to have contracted the disease while there.
The chief of staff, was in Europe alongside the power minister, Saleh Mamman, returned to the country on March 14.
Mr Kyari’s death is believed to be among the four new deaths announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) late on Friday, April 17, 2020.
Mr Kyari was first appointed chief of staff to the president in 2015 when Mr Buhari came to power. He was reappointed last year after his principal won reelection.
