The Federal Government may sanction Kenya Airways for conveying a
corpse from the Ebola-affected Democratic Republic of Congo to Nigeria
as it’s leaving no stone unturned tackling the dreaded spread of Ebola.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who spoke
at a joint briefing organised by the state agency and the Federal
Ministry of Heath, said the airline did not obtain the necessary
approval to bring in the body from the Ebola-ravaged country.
Idris, however, said the laboratory investigations showed that the corpse was not infected with EVD.
“The airline brought the remains of a Nigerian without having
all documentations that are required to process its clearance by the
Department of Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health. The
Federal Government of Nigeria and relevant agencies condemn this
deliberate breach.
“In line with industry practice, a report has been made to the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the regulatory agency of the Nigerian
aviation industry on the occurrence.
“Necessary steps are being taken by the regulatory authorities
to sanction the airline in a bid to prevent future occurrence. We have
commenced detailed investigations by all relevant agencies of government
to determine the immediate and remote intentions of this unfortunate
behaviour,” Idris stated.
The commissioner noted that the Federal Government had banned
repatriation of human remains into the country through all points of
entry as a precautionary measure to avoid importation of any infectious
disease during the Ebola outbreak.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Health and the Port Health
Division had issued guidelines to all airlines on the procedures to be
followed to obtain a waiver before repatriating any human remains into
the country.
The commissioner said, “The government will like to reiterate
that the ban is still in force and any attempt to contravene this ban
will attract serious sanction. Government will want everyone to be
vigilant and encourage all our officials at land, sea and air borders to
continue the screening of international passengers.”
