Leaders of Onitsha main market and Marine modern market in Anambra State have warned traders and customers to always wear their facemasks or risk arrest and penalty, The Nation reports.

Chairman of Onitsha main market Kenneth Onyeka, who gave the warning yesterday, said a wife of a police officer, who visited the market without a facemask was arrested by the task force.

Onyeka said efforts by the woman to get assistance from the husband were unfruitful as he insisted she must do the right thing.

He spoke while addressing reporters on their level of preparedness to ensure a strict compliance with the COVID-19 preventive measures, saying special task forces had been constituted to that effect.

He said: “A wife of a police officer was arrested here inside the market for not wearing a face mask and when we contacted her husband on phone, he told us to detain her until she gets a face mask and we forced her to buy a face mask before we allowed her to go.”