Nigeria announces two-week lockdown in Abuja, Lagos

The new restrictions are intended to curb the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria

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The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has announced a lockdown in the cities of Lagos and Abuja in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19.

The restrictions, which will start from 23:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on Monday, will also apply to Ogun state, which borders Lagos.

The lockdown will take effect for an initial period of 14 days.

Mr Buhari said everybody would have to stay at home, all businesses and offices would have to close, and only food shops, hospitals and other essential service providers would remain open.

Travel to or from other states will be banned. The president said a special fund of $40m (£32m) had been set aside to help deal with the pandemic.

Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and one death.

Africa has not been hit as hard by the virus as most other continents, but the number of cases and deaths is on the rise.

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