The federal government has declared 63 Nigerians and 27 foreigners wanted over violation of COVID-19 guidelines.
A statement issued on Sunday night by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 and signed by its chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said the identified individuals failed to observe the newly instituted mandatory protocols recently put in place against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the statement, the list, which contains a total of 27 Indians and 63 Nigerians, arrived Nigeria through the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the PSC, while the affected airlines are Ethiopian airline and Qatar airways, the 27 Indian violators were categorised as unregistered.
The statement gave the dates of their arrival to be between May 8 and 15, noting that they “evaded the mandatory seven-day quarantine for persons arriving from restricted countries.”
The statement reads in part; “The Presidential Steering Committee on May 1, 2021, issued a Travel Advisory for Passengers arriving in Nigeria from Brazil, India and Turkey. These precautionary measures are a necessary step to mitigate the risk of importation of variants of concern and break the chain of transmission to the population. Under the new measures, passengers arriving from/or that have visited any of these three countries within fourteen (14) days prior to the visit to Nigeria, are required to follow mandatory arrival quarantine and testing protocols in designated facilities.
“The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) has, however, observed that while most of the arriving passengers dutifully observed the guidelines, some (Nigerians and foreigners) have violated them in contravention of the provisions of the CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) HEALTH REGULATIONS PROTECTION, 2021. Accordingly, the underlisted persons who arrived in Nigeria between 8th May 2021 and 15th May 2021 through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and whose names and passport numbers are displayed, have been declared Persons of Interest (POI) on account of posing considerable danger to overall public health and for the violation of Nigeria COVID-19 travel protocol by evading the mandatory 7-day quarantine for persons arriving from restricted countries.”
The government has, therefore, called on Nigerians to beware of the individuals, declaring them as persons of interest who “constitute an immediate health hazard to the society.”
“They must therefore transport themselves safely, to the nearest state public health departments within 48hrs of this notice for immediate evaluation and call the Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health on 08036134672 or 08032461990 for further directions,” the statement added.
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