The Mobile Courts activated by the Federal Capital Territory Administration have prosecuted no fewer than 156 violators of the stay-at-home Presidential Order aimed at curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Malam Wadata Bodinga, the Director, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services, made the disclosure in an interactive session with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
Bodinga said the courts started sitting on April 16, 2020 in AYA, Dantata and Mpape, Abuja.
Bodinga said the mobile courts, presided over by a Magistrate, have continued to try violators of the COVID-19 lockdown proclamation laws.
He said a total of 50 cases were prosecuted on the fist day, out which 40 people were convicted, while 10 were discharged.
Similarly, Bodinga said during the second and third days, between April 17 and 19, 40 offenders were prosecuted.
“During the second and third days about 29 violators were convicted, 11 discharged; 66 were prosecuted with 48 convicted and 18 discharged respectively,” he said.
Bodinga explained that the trial involved pedestrians, motorists and motorcyclists caught violating the order.
He said some of the convicts were fined various sums, while others had their vehicles impounded and sentenced to community service.
He said: “The objective of setting up the courts had been largely achieved as fewer people are now seen on the streets.
“The idea to prosecute violators is not aimed at punishing anyone but to discourage people from leaving their homes against medical advice to curtail the spread of COVID-19.”
Bodinga, therefore, appealed to residents to comply with the lockdown order to avoid arrest and prosecution.
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