The High Court in Accra has dismissed an injunction application which sought to stop the National Identification Authority (NIA) registration exercise in the Eastern Region amidst coronavirus fears.

According to the court, the NIA’s decision to continue with the Ghana Card registration is not against the President’s directive suspending all public gatherings.

The Judge, Justice Anthony Oppong explained that the directive did not stop operations of businesses but rather asked operators to observe certain protocols including social distancing.

Kevow Mark-Oliver and Emmanuel Akumatey Okrah sued the NIA and succeeded in securing an interlocutory injunction preventing the NIA from going ahead with the exercise.

READ ALSO:

The President’s Ban on Public Gathering Did Not Include the NIA – State Attorney

This followed reports indicating that citizens looking to register for the card were massing at some registration centres in contravention of expert advice for curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The NIA subsequently suspended the Ghana Card registration exercise in the Eastern Region due to the injunction.

The exercise was suspended “pending the final determination of the application,” the NIA noted in a statement.

The NIA, however insisted that its decision to carry on with the Ghana Card registration exercise in the Eastern Region was not in violation of the directives concerning public gatherings.

Other observers such as The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and The Ghana Medical Association (GMA,  also criticized the NIA, stating that the registration exercise can lead to further community spread of the COVID-19 as precautionary measures are not being adhered to.