Nigeria has announced plans to ease movement restrictions imposed late last month on three key states in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a televised speech on Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari said he had “approved a phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos and Ogun states effective from Monday, May 4, 2020”. FCT stands for Federal Capital Territory and includes the national capital, Abuja.

Buhari said “the federal and state governments have jointly and collaboratively worked hard on how to balance the need to protect health while also preserving livelihoods, leveraging global best practices while keeping in mind our peculiar circumstances”.

But the president also announced new measures including a nationwide 8pm-to-6am curfew, compulsory wearing of facemasks and a ban on “non-essential” travel between different regions.

He also announced an immediate two-week lockdown in Kano, the country’s most populous state, after officials said they were investigating a series of “mysterious deaths”.

The government in the northern state said preliminary investigations revealed the deaths were caused by complications from hypertension, diabetes, meningitis and acute malaria.

A volunteer carries food parcels to distribute to vulnerable residents during a lockdown by the authorities in efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease in Lagos [Temilade Adelaja/Reuters/Reuters]