The move by the authorities to contain Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) continued, at the weekend, following the arrest of 39 foreigners, mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Lagos.
Police and Immigration officials raided two hotels in the former federal capital where the suspects were apprehended.
35 of the foreigners are said to be from Congo which produced the first ever Ebola victim in 1976.
Although the latest round of infections started from Guinea in West Africa, two Ebola victims have been recorded in Congo.
The foreigners’ arrest came just as former President Olusegun Obasanjo criticised Liberian officials for allegedly conniving with the Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, who brought Ebola to Nigeria.
Also, yesterday, there was panic in Aba, Abia State commercial nerve centre, after a radio station aired a report that a relation of the Port-Harcourt victim of Ebola, Dr Iyke Enemuo, had sneaked into the town.
Lagos State government, in the meantime, warned residents against indulging in acts that could escalate Ebola in the state.
Hotel raid
The Lagos arrest of the 39 foreigners, launched by police and immigration officials, was apparently carried out in a hotel and a guest house situated at Atere Street on Victoria Island.
The Lagos arrest of the 39 foreigners, launched by police and immigration officials, was apparently carried out in a hotel and a guest house situated at Atere Street on Victoria Island.
Sunday Vanguard sources said the raid followed a tip-off by some residents to the Area A Police Command, Lion Building, Lagos.
Consequently, the Area Commander, Imohimi Edgal, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), collaborated with immigration and health officials to storm the hotel where the foreigners were apprehended.
A police source said immigration officials will determine if the suspects were legally residing in the country while health officials will determine their health status to know if any of them had Ebola or not.
Following the arrest of the foreigners, hotels in the area, it was learnt, were placed under surveillance while residents were told to report any suspicious persons or activities to the police.
A resident of the area, Femi Ajasa, told Sunday Vanguard that they became suspicious and alerted the police following the mass movements of the foreigners into the hotels in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Ebola virus.
While commending the police for their swift response which led to the arrest of the suspects, he said residents suspected that some persons were receiving treatment in the hotels rooms, hence the need to alert the authorities.
” We were particularly concerned about our safety following the revelation that it was a foreigner, Patrick Sawyerr, who imported Ebola to Nigeria. A vigilant resident alerted the community on Friday that he suspected some new faces entering the two hotels mostly patronised by foreigners, hence we alerted relevant authorities”, he said.
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