FG bans over 2,000 Nigerians and foreigners from traveling abroad and into the country for one year. Nigeria Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 revealed that it has so far banned over 2,000 Nigerians and foreigners from travelling abroad and into the country for one year, due to evading and avoiding the Coronavirus Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test in Nigeria’s airports.
This was disclosed by the National Incident Manager (NIM) of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC), Mukhtar Muhammad on Monday, in Abuja, The Editor Nigeria learnt.
The PSC revealed that the names of over 2,000 citizens and foreigners had been sent to all the major federal medical facilities where medical experts were assigned to give care to Nigerians and foreigners that had travelled into the country during the COVID-19 third wave.
He also added that the FG had warned that passengers arriving the country from high-risk regions must be quarantined in a government-provided facility and that the passports of those who failed to comply were suspended for one year.
What the PSC said on passport freeze
“We have included the provision of quarantine for passengers, who arrived from high-risk countries and people who evaded these protocols have been penalised by publishing their names, as well as suspending their passports for one year.
“Let me assure you that so far we have published the list of over 2,000 people who evaded quarantine in our health facilities. And we have gone ahead to ensure that their passports are suspended, so, for every action there are consequences,” he said.
What you should know
It was reported in December 2020, that the Federal Government initially announced the suspension of 100 passports belonging to Nigerian passengers who refused to undergo second Covid-19 tests immediately after arriving Nigeria, citing the suspension was for 6 months and also published their passport numbers for flouting obligation to test within 7 days of arrival in Nigeria from overseas travel.
