By Gideon Njoku
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, has admitted errors during the burial of former Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari. Mustapha is, also, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19.
Most Nigerians, shocked that some of the guidelines and protocols, as directed by the NCDC and WHO, especially, social distancing, were broken, have continued to criticise the government harshly.
There was a crowd at the funeral held in Abuja, including some government officials. Mustapha was at Kyari’s official residence, Defence House, where hundreds of people had also gathered to bid him farewell. Social distancing was completely discarded.
Admitting errors on the part of the PTF, Mustapha, in a statement he personally signed, blamed the situation on poor crowd control, assuring it would never happen again as lessons have been learnt.
He, however, revealed that all the other guidelines on the handling of the body of a COVID-19 victim were observed. For instance, he disclosed that Kyari’s body was decontaminated. He also said that both the body bag and the casket were decontantaminated, after which the casket was sealed before his body was flown to Lagos.
In the statement, Mustapha said: “The burial of the late Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, on 18 April, 2020, has attracted a lot of concerns from Nigerians over the non-adherence of physical distancing measures and mass gathering restrictions at the Gudu Cemetery.
“The non-observance of physical distancing, and the flouting of mass gathering restrictions were due to the failure of crowd crowd control measures.
“We acknowledge that mistakes were made; we have learnt from these mistakes, and would ensure that future events are adequately regulated in accordance with the Presidential Taskforce and the Nigerian Centre for Control, (NCDC) protocols.
“It is, however, important to state that the body of the late Chief of Staff, who died on 17th April 2020, was prepared for burial in line with the NCDC interim guidelines for the safe management of a deceased person with COVID infection.
“As a matter of fact, the body of anyone who dies from COVID-19 infection will not be released for burial without following these guidelines.
“Consequently, the body of the late Chief of Staff was thoroughly decontaminated, put in a body bag, and then a sealed coffin in Lagos, before being flown to Abuja. On arrival in Abuja, all safety measures were strictly adhered to, from the plane to the burial ground. At no time was the body openly exposed to the environment.
It is worth noting that while COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that is significantly less infectious when compared to Ebola or Lassa fever, the protocols for safe burial must still be strictly followed.
“The incidents that were recorded after the burial, which may have compromised due safety procedures, have been duly recognised, and correct steps taken to limit any risk to the public”.
The Presidency had, immediately, after the funeral, barred all Presidency staff, including the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno, from entering the Villa, and ordered them to a 14-day self quarantine.
It also affected State House Correspondents.
