Gunmen have disrupted a COVID-19 press conference which was billed to take place at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Lokoja, Kogi state, attacked health professionals and carted away laptops and vital documents.
The medical centre had scheduled a media briefing to demand a COVID-19 screening centre in the state and to also speak about the challenges health workers are facing with regard to the disease.
The armed men were said to have arrived at the facility in three vehicles and shot sporadically to disperse the meeting.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has been having a running battle with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and on Tuesday, Bello alleged that Nigerians are being made to accept the reality of COVID-19 “by force”.
He said the virus was created to “shorten the lifestyle of the people”, while asking residents not to accept what he described as “cut and paste COVID-19″.
The NCDC said there are three cases of COVID-19 in the state. However, Bello has continued to insist that the state is free from the pandemic.
There is no information yet on who could have sponsored the thugs that attacked health officials at Federal Medical Centre today.
