Pandemonium erupted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA) in Lagos on Wednesday, October 29, when a suspected Ebola patient arrived at the facility.
The patient, a Nigerian identified as Mr. Theophilus Onnakhinon, came into the country from disease-ravaged Sierra Leone aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight.
Onnakhinon was however said to have been successfully treated for the disease and cleared of all infection.
An inside source reportedly stated that the victim had been assisted into the country by Nigeria’s consular officer, Mrs. T. Mohammed to prevent him from facing stigmatization and discrimination.
The source said:
“It
is true that there was Ebola scare at the Lagos airport today,
(yesterday) but the fact is that the victim had been cured of the
disease in Sierra Leone before being assisted into Nigeria by our
consular officer in that country and immediately he landed, he was
handed over to the port health authorities who immediately carried out
checks on him and isolated him from the other passengers.”
“But,
the truth is that we just want to recheck what has already been done by
the Sierra Leonean authorities. You know, we cannot take chances again
in the country. I can assure you that the situation is under control.”
Mr.
Onnakhinon was reportedly taken into custody by Port Health officials
upon his arrival and is currently being observed to ensure that he is
truly free of the disease.
Ebola was imported into Nigeria by Liberian, Patrick Sawyer who arrived Lagos aboard an Asky Airlines flight from Liberia.
The disease claimed 8 lives among the 20 cases recorded before the country was declared Ebola-free on October 20, 2014.
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