The government of the State of Osun has declared a three-day fasting and prayers for the restoration of peace and tranquility in the State.

Osun government, in a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji, said that the fasting and prayers would hold from Tuesday, 20th October to Thursday, 22nd October 2020.

The statement read in part: “Osun is known for peaceful co-habitation amongst her citizens, but recent occurences in the State appear to threaten the enviable peace profile of Osun. Therefore, citizens are enjoined to observe the three days fasting and prayer for the peace of the state.

“We also implore royal fathers and religious leaders to observe this rewarding spiritual exercise for the sake of the peace of the State, and mobilize as many people in doing same.

“Also, observance of this exercise would not require a public holiday or a large congregation at any designated place”, the statement read.

As part of steps to ensure total compliance with its lockdown directive imposed to curb spread of COVID-19, the State Government of Osun has mounted barricades at all boundaries leading into the State and on major roads within the State. 

This follows the announcement that the 14-day lockdown in the State was not a curfew, but a total lockdown with no affordance of human and vehicular movements.

The State Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Mrs Funke Egbemode during an interview with newsmen on Tuesday, said the barricades were erected to throttle back unauthorized movements across the State. She stated that the government was intensifying efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 in the State and avoid a resurgence of the disease. 

Egbemode said further: “the Government is determined to protect Osun and its citizens. Hence, this move by the Government is to keep defiant people from hurting themselves and endangering others.”

“The barricades will only be opened to essential duty vehicles, conveying materials needed for the fight against COVID-19. Non-essential travels and movements remain banned in the State of Osun till further notice”, she added.

Corroborating Egbemode, the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Adeleke Yekini Adebayo, who doubles as a member of the State COVID-19 Task Force, noted that the government installed physical barricades at its boundaries to ensure safety of its citizens, stressing that the action was to prevent human and vehicular movements from neighboring states with increasing number of COVID-19 cases. He further said that the laws guiding the operation of the total lockdown and the general security of the people remain in force, adding that “relevant security agencies are on alert to ensure total compliance of the regulation and guarantee safety and security of the people.”

The Osun State Police Command has arrested a middle-aged man in Osogbo for impersonating the State Government to swindle unsuspecting citizens of the state under the guise of providing social relief during the stay-at-home period. 

This follows a public service announcement from the State Government of Osun, warning its citizens to beware of criminally-minded people who are demanding for personal and security details in exchange for money and relief materials. 

A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor of Osun on Security, Mrs Abiodun Ige, said the suspect collected the Voter’s Card of some people in Olorunda Local Government Area, with the assurance that they would receive the sum of N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira ) each through an unnamed  Non-Governmental Organisation.

Ige said that some of the people whose cards have been collected have already been contacted and intimated of the government’s position on the matter.  She added that the police have launched an investigation to track down the suspect’s accomplices.   Meanwhile, the State’s Ministry of Information and Civic Orientation has revved up its awareness drive that the State Government of Osun is not asking anyone for his/her personal security details in exchange for money during this stay-at-home period.