The Nigerian government has suspended the passports of 2,000 travelers who failed to undergo the mandatory arrival quarantine and other protocols after returning into the country.
The National Incident Manager (NIM) of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC), Mukhtar Muhammad, who disclosed this at the committee’s briefing on Monday, noted that the passport of those who failed to follow protocols have been suspended for one year, meaning they cannot legally travel out of Nigeria within that period.
Muhammad said the government had insisted that passengers who arrive into the country, especially from high risk countries, must quarantine in a facility provided by the government.
He said, “We have included the provision of quarantine for passengers who arrived from these high risk countries and people who evade these protocols have been penalized by publishing their names as well as by suspending their passports for one year.
“Let me assure you that so far we have published the list of over 2,000 people who evaded quarantine in our health facilities. And we have gone ahead to ensure that their passports are suspended so for every action there are consequences.”
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, during the briefing, accused those casting aspersions on the vaccination campaign in Nigeria as “carriers of misinformation and disinformation.”
He said, “On September 25th, 2021, the British High Commission, Abuja released a press statement which clearly states that the vaccines administered in Nigeria are recognized and approved by their regulatory body. They also clarified that come October 4th, 2021, they would be simplifying their classification process to ‘red list’ and ‘rest of the World’.
“Nigeria would be moving from ‘Amber’ to the ‘rest of the World’ list. This indicates that the on-going vaccination exercise in Nigeria, is widely recognized. Please let us not let carriers of misinformation and disinformation prevent us from taking the decision to protect ourselves, our family and our loved ones. For those of us who have been vaccinated, it is our responsibility to ensure that our loved ones, friends and community are also protected from this virus by encouraging them to get vaccinated.”
“…buying and selling of COVID-19 vaccines and cards is a criminal offence in Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria has provided these vaccines free of charge to all eligible persons. The officer in charge of every designated health facility would be held accountable for every vaccination card and QR code. These must match the quantities of vaccines and devices provided.”
