The Federal Government has revoked the visas issued to 27 Indians in addition to placing a tag of Persons of Interests on 63 Nigerians for failure to follow the COVID- 19 testing protocols and mandatory arrival quarantine for international passengers arriving from India, Brazil, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates where the new but deadly variant of COVID-19 virus is spreading.
The Chairman Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, announced the measures against the passengers in a public statement issued on Sunday.
He said the violators arrived in Nigeria through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja between May 8 and 15, 2021.
In a move which is a radical departure from merely publishing the passport number of the violators, the federal government has for the time published the names in addition to the passport numbers of the defaulters.
In the list released by the PSC, 90 persons from Nigeria and India were found to have violated the Health Protection Regulations after arriving in Nigeria from restricted countries.
Mustapha said that apart from the sanction imposed on the violators, the federal government will in addition take further steps which, include the deactivation of travel passports and prosecution of the foreign and Nigerian offenders under 2021 Health Protection Regulations.
The PSC stated that the indiscretion of the persons of interests constituted an immediate health hazard to the society. It subsequently warned the violators to report to the nearest public health departments within 48 hours for immediate evaluation.
