Abuja lawyer and Chairman of the Board of Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, has defended the curfew imposed on Lagos, Ogun and Abuja by President Muammadu Buhari as part of efforts to check the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

“The President is empowered to restrict movement on health ground,” Ajulo said while reacting to Monday night’s nationwide broadcast by the President in which he announced the two-week curfew effective from 11pm today.

“The Federal Quarantine Act, CAP 384 LFN, 1990 CAP Q2 LFN 2004 which remains in force today, is the primary law governing matters concerning public health crises in Nigeria.

It is based on the exclusive legislative jurisdiction accorded to the federal government under the Constitution on issues of “quarantine” and any matter incidental thereof.

“The act empowers the President to place a curfew, impose restriction of movement, including a lockdown according to the provisions of the Quarantine Act,” Ajulo said in a statement.