Ololade Adeyanju/
A father, Mr. Femi Adeoye, who handed over his 24-year-old son, Babafemi, to security agents for violating the COVID-19 lockdown order in Ekiti State has been honoured with an appointment as COVID-19 Response Ambassador by Governor Kayode Fayemi.
The appointment was announced today by Fayemi during a meeting with the man at Government House in Ado-Ekiti.
See copy of letter of commendation:
A video of the man’s encounter with security officials who expressed shock at his action and initially declined to detain son went viral on social media, yesterday.
See video:
In a statement, yesterday, the state government hailed the man’s action, which it says “epitomizes the Ekiti ethos of selflessness, which places a greater premium on the collective good of the society above personal and emotional considerations”.
The government also said it had suspended a senior member of the COVID-19 Task Force who featured in the video for his unprofessional handling of the matter.
The man had reportedly warned his son to stay back in Lagos and not defy the COVID-19 lockdown order to travel to Ekiti State but the latter ignored the warning and attempted to sneak into Ado-Ekiti on Sunday.
The father however reported his movement to security agents and also gave them his mobile numbers, which they used to track his movement before intercepting him at the popular Fajuyi roundabout.
Read the state government’s statement below:
PRESS STATEMENT ON VIRAL “FATHER REJECTS SON” VIDEO.
Wednesday April 29, 2020.
The attention of the Ekiti State Covid-19 Taskforce has been drawn to a video clip in circulation where a man refused to allow his son, who just returned from a trip outside the state, into his house until he had been isolated for 14 days as stipulated by NCDC protocol for preventing community spread of COVID-19 in Ekiti State.
The Task force commends Mr Femi Adeoye, for refusing to cover-up his son’s travel history and for denying him access into the house without confirming his COVID-19 status.
Mr Adeoye epitomizes the Ekiti ethos of selflessness, which places greater premium on the collective good of the society above personal and emotional considerations. This is the core of the Values Orientation policy of the Fayemi-led Administration.
We also consider it necessary to inform members of the public that the video was recorded about four days ago, by one of the security men attached to the Fajuyi Pavilion, where the Enforcement Taskforce uses as its base for coordination of daily operations.
The security man who recorded the encounter is neither a health worker, nor qualified or authorized to determine the health status of the young man. So, none of his actions or misstatements reflect the capacity or preparedness of the State Taskforce to combat the COVID-19 virus.
The officer in question has been suspended pending further investigations, for acting outside the jurisdiction of his scope of authority.
Following the encounter, the young man has been in the custody of the State for the past 4 days, and has since been taken to one of the designated quarantine centres, where he would be for 14 days, in line with laid down procedure that dictates that anyone who sneaks into the State, would be quarantined for fourteen (14) days, at their own cost. His samples will also be taken for testing in order to ensure he has not been infected in the course of his travels to high incidence areas of the country.
We implore members of the public to emulate the patriotic zeal of Mr Adeoye, and promptly report to the Ekiti State Covid-19 Taskforce, any out- of-State traveler who sneaks into their neighbourhood, or places of abode. This is to safeguard against the likely health hazard that such returnees portend for the larger society.
Signed
Aare Muyiwa Olumilua
Honourable Commissioner for Information and Values Orientation.