The Minister of Health said the airline brought the remains without all necessary documentations that are required to process its clearance by the ministry of health.
The Federal Government has condemned the breach of regulations by a foreign airline carrier on the repatriation of the remains of a Nigerian from Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole:
and the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Dr Jide Idris, condemned the development in a joint statement on Thursday in Lagos.
According to the statement, the airline brought the
remains without all necessary documentations that are required to
process its clearance by the Department of Port Health Services, Federal
Ministry of Health.
It said that in line with industry practice, a report
had been made to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the regulatory
agency of the Nigerian Aviation Industry on the occurrence.
It added that necessary steps were being taken by the
regulatory authority to sanction the airline in a bid to prevent
recurrences.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria instituted a
ban on the repatriation of human remains into the country at all points
of entry as a precautionary measure to avoid importation of any
infectious disease.
“This ban is one of the interventions we undertook as a nation during the Ebola outbreak.
“The Federal Ministry of Health, Port Health
Division issued guidelines to all airlines on the procedures to be
followed to obtain a waiver before repatriating any human remains into
the country.
“The government will like to reiterate that the
ban is still in force and any attempt to contravene this ban will
attract serious sanction.
“The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari
takes the health of the citizens seriously and will not shy away from
wielding a big stick on any errant individuals or organisation,’’ it said.
The statement said that officials of Port Health,
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Lagos State Ministry of
Health investigated the cause of death of the human remains and took
samples for laboratory investigation.
According to the statement, the laboratory report shows that there is no evidence of Ebola infection or any other contagious infections in the human remains.
“We assure everyone to go about their normal business without any anxiety.
“The government wants everyone to be vigilant and
encourage all our officials at land, sea and air borders to continue
screening of international passengers.
“Recently, the World Health Organisation alerted
the whole world on the recent outbreak of Ebola in Democratic Republic
of Congo.
“Nigeria is keenly following this unfolding event
at our sister country. The government of Nigeria wishes the government
of DRC success in her fight against this unfortunate outbreak,’’ it said.
The statement said that Lagos State Government in
collaboration with the Federal Government through the NCDC and Port
Health Services had developed a public health emergency contingency plan
at the airport and land borders.
It noted that the state government had put in place
control measures, including disease surveillance and notification
officers in all the 20 local government and 37 local council development
area in the state.
The statement said other measures include
reactivation of the isolation wards in the Mainland Hospital and other
health facilities and restocking of infection prevention and control
commodities.
“I wish to restate the need for the citizenry to
follow the general health promotion and disease prevention measures,
including proper disposal of refuse and avoiding open defecation.
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