A civil society organisation, Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, has threatened to sue the Federal Government and the family of the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, in the aftermath of the burial of the top aide of Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
Kyari, 67, died of the complications related to the COVID-19 on Friday.
The deceased who had been Buhari’s Chief of Staff since 2015 was buried at the Gudu Cemetery in Abuja on Saturday.
Although the presidency announced that the burial was going to be held privately, it ended up attracting a large crowd without the observance of the recommended social distancing measures.
This has sparked concerns about the possibility of an escalation of the spread of the dreaded coronavirus through the gathering.
KHRI in a statement on Saturday threatened to sue the Federal Government and the Kyari family should they fail to produce all those who attended the burial for isolation or quarantine.
The group’s executive director, Okere Nnamdi, who signed the statement, stated, “If the Minister of Information a few days ago told the nation that COVID-19 casualties cannot be released for burial, what then is special about the late Abba Kyari? With this development, families of other COVID-9 demised persons will now activate demand to have the corpses of their loved ones released to them for burial, and all these, if allowed, will further breach the WHO international standard for burial of COVID 19 casualties.”
Nnamdi added, “Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International will file a public interest action against the Federal government of Nigeria and the Kayri family if they fail to make all those who attended the burial available for 14 days isolation and quarantine by the NCDC within 24 hours.”
The group also called on the Federal Government to identify and prosecute a man seen to be removing a COVID-19 protection apron and dumped it beside the fence of the commentary in a viral video.
The yet-to-be-identified man presumably served as one of the undertakers who handled Kyari’s body.
The group stated, “We call on the Federal Capital Territory Taskforce on COVID-19 to immediately arrest and prosecute this man no matter how highly placed or how close he may be with those in power.
” If the taskforce could arrest and prosecute ordinary Nigerians for moving on the streets, the man whose conduct amounts to intentional spread of the deadly virus must be arrested and prosecuted without delay.”
