The Lagos State Police Command has arrested 288 violators of the lockdown directive by the Federal Government in the last three days.

The Command’s Spokesman, DSP Bala Elkana, who made the disclosure to newsmen on Sunday, said that majority of the violators were held for disobeying the social distancing directive.

Elkana said that a cleric of the Sheik Central Mosque in Mile 12 area of Ketu, was among those arrested for allegedly holding prayers with a large number of worshippers in violation of the directive.

Elkana said that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had earlier warned the residents to obey the directive to avoid being embarrassed.

He warned against the spread of fake news and recycling of old videos on social media with new captions that suggested that the incident happened during the lockdown.

Elkana said that such fake news were perpetrated to create panic among the residents.

He said that the command was investigating the sources of such mischievous messages with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

“Stop the spread of fake news and keep safe. Together we can stop the spread of COVID-19,” Elkana said. (NAN)