A mobile court in Benin, Edo State, on Tuesday sentenced 32 persons to community services for not wearing face masks.
Edo State has made it mandatory for residents to wear face masks and obey other COVID-19 protocols in order to check the spread of the viral infection.
The prosecuting counsel, Orubosa Okubor, said the 32 persons were apprehended within Benin metropolis and that they pleaded liable.
The Chief Magistrate, Rusberth Imafidon, directed the convicts to carry out community services in line with the Correctional Centre of Non-Custodial Regulation.
Their punishment includes clearing drains, shrubs, picking of trash, compulsory community sensitisation, and grass-cutting.
Mr Imafidon said the offenders would be punished for three hours for one day to serve as a deterrent to other violators.
The correctional officers would handle the offenders during the punishment period.
The total confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Edo State is 3,610 as of January 25, according to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The state occupies the seventh position among the states with high COVID-19 cases.
