COVID-19: Abuja residents protest proposed location of infectious disease cemetery

Some residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) have protested against an alleged decision by the authorities to site a cemetery for those who died of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases close to where they live.

The site, the residents say, is between Galadimawa roundabout and Games Village estate in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

Asade Olatubosun, an Abuja resident, tells reporters that the federal capital territory administration (FCTA) is planning to use land in between Galadimawa roundabout and Games Village for site to bury those who have died of #COVID19 and other infectious diseases. pic.twitter.com/08wRmqhwt1

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Speaking with journalists on Monday, Gbenga Ambali, representative of SunCity estate, said the decision to site an infectious disease cemetery close to residential areas could be harmful to them because they depend on boreholes for water.

Ambali said an infectious disease cemetery could create future problems for them since a lot is not known about COVID-19.

“We want to make it very clear that this would not be good for us, for two reasons,” he said.

“The number reason is that most of us in this neighbourhood, our source of water is through borehole, so if we have an infectious disease cemetery around us we are not safe.

“So we want our government to rethink and have a change of mind on this. Number two reason is on the issue of the COVID-19 that we are all facing right now, nobody knows the full details of this disease.

“So bringing it down close to us would be creating additional problems in the future.”

The representative said some “well connected” persons in the estate sounded the alarm and that was how they got to know about the “plan”.

Ferguson Bobai, a retired rear admiral and representative of Golden Spring Estate, said infectious diseases cemetery should be sited far away from residential areas just as it is done for hospitals of that nature.

“We felt that this is worrisome, nobody can tell us what the effect of what that kind of cemetery portends to the residents of the area in a short time not to talk in a long time,” he said.

When TheCable visited the site, a staff member of a construction company who did not want to be named said a cemetery would be constructed there.

He said the authorities would first meet with the residents who have land at the proposed site before work fully begins.

Hassan Odediran, an Abuja resident, said he was contacted by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) that his land had been taken over.

“Someone dropped a number by name, Stanely, a staff of FCDA. He said the area should be used for COVID-19 cemetery. He asked if I have documents for allocation and fencing,” Odediran said.

“I told him no approval has been made for fencing. He said we should meet on Tuesday, I have decided not to bother myself.”

When contacted for comments, Abubakar Sani, media aide to Muhammed Bello, FCT minister, said enquires should be made at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).

An AEPB official said he is not in the know of any plan by the FCDA to site an infectious disease cemetery there.

Nigeria has so far recorded 323 cases of COVID-19. While 85 patients have been discharged, 10 have died of the disease.