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We Will Not Place Travel Restriction on High-Risk Countries over Coronavirus – FG
While many countries are placing travel restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19, Nigeria has insisted it would not be banning any legitimate traveller from entering the country.
The minister of state for health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said on Monday in Abuja that Nigeria still has no plans on restricting any country’s nationals from entering the country.
Instead, the country would be intensifying screening on passengers from eight countries – China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Japan, France, and Spain.
Mr Mamora, while giving the national update on the status of the disease in the country, said these eight countries have been highlighted as countries with high risk of widespread community transmission and screening would be intensified on passengers from these countries.
The U.S. and UK, despite having high ongoing transmission and cases, are not part of the countries earmarked for intensive passengers screening.
As at the time of reporting, the U.S. ranks eighth on the table of countries with the highest number of confirmed cases with 3,802 confirmed cases while the UK ranks 10th with 1,391 confirmed cases following Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Japan which is on the list for intensive passengers screening to Nigeria, ranks 17th with 840 confirmed cases.
Mr Mamora said “despite the fact that we have not recorded a confirmed Covid-19 case in the last one week in Nigeria, it is important to remember that we are still at high risk like other countries.
“We have carried out a review of our case definition after the disease was declared pandemic and added three countries to the existing list of five high risk countries with widespread community transmission.”
Although 24 countries including the U.S, Ghana Angola, Australia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Peru among others have placed some restrictions on travellers due to Covid-19, Nigeria will not be following suit any time soon.
Mr Mamora explained that countries have the right to make policies that suit their situation in combating the Covid-19.
He said “each country will be in position to know when to put restrictions in place in relationship with the situation on ground.
Responding to why the UK is not on the list for intensive passengers screening, he said “We are monitoring situations and it is dynamic and we will do so when necessary.”
He added that passengers from these eight countries will undertake secondary screening at the point of entry and also advised to self-isolate on entry.
While transmission of the disease has remained high globally, Nigeria has so far recorded only two cases of the disease.
The index case, an Italian who had flown into the country for business and the second one of the people who have been in contact with the index case.
While suspected cases are being reported periodically, Mr Mamora said there is yet to be a new case from any of the suspected cases.
The last being a case from Enugu over the weekend and was tested negative.
Meanwhile, he said the contact case from the index case is well and released to go back into the community.
Mr Mamora said the index case is still however being observed as the viral load of the virus is yet to be at zero significant level.
He said the Italian would be under observation until that is achieved but he is clinically stable and responding to treatment.
Mamora said a total of 48 people who had met the case definition of the disease has so far been tested in eight states – Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Enugu, FCT, Rivers Kano, Yobe – out of which 47 tested negative and have been cleared, one positive (contact of index case) and one result still pending. There has been no death so far.
Since the onset of the outbreak in Wuhan in December, cases of the virus have spread across all the continent except Antarctica.
As of Monday, over 170,500 cases have been reported in 156 countries with over 6,500 deaths.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
