Nigeria Government To Sanction Kenya Airways Over Conveyance Of Dead Body To The Country
The Federal and Lagos State Governments are seeking sanction for Kenya Airways for conveying a dead body from Ebola infested Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, without approval from the necessary bodies.
This is coming as the corpse flown in from DRC has tested negative to the deadly Ebola virus.
At a joint news conference on Thursday in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Lagos Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said the Kenya airline conveyed the deceased to Nigeria against the extant regulation.
“The airline brought the remains of this Nigerian without all necessary documentations that are
required to process its clearance by the Department of Port Health Services, Federal Ministry of Health. The Federal Government of Nigeria and relevant agencies condemn this deliberate breach.
“In line with industry practice, a report has been made to the Nigerian Civil Aviation, the regulatory agency of the Nigerian aviation industry on the occurrence.
“Necessary steps are being taken by the regulatory authority to sanction the airline in a bid to prevent future occurrence. We have commenced detailed investigation by all relevant agencies of government to determine the immediate and remote intentions of this unfortunate behaviour,” he said.
Idris emphasized that the Federal Government instituted a ban on the repatriation of human remains into the country in all points of entry as a precautionary measure to avoid importation of any infectious disease, saying that the ban was one of the interventions the nation undertook during the Ebola outbreak.
PM News
