The Federal Government will keep the passports of Nigerians being evacuated from other countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
They returnees will also be under surveillance for one week.
A guideline for the repatriation of Nigerians issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the nation’s missions and embassies abroad, dated May 1, 2020 also outlined the mode of dressing for the returnees.
The document signed by the acting Director, European Affairs Division, Mr. George Edokpa, read: “The returnees must be in recommended apparel, long sleeve tops and full-length trousers or ankle-length skirts for females and long-sleeve shirts and full-length trousers for males.
“Returnees must ensure they keep their face masks in place for the duration of the flight except during meals after which they must put the face mask back on. Returnees are expected to fill the self-reporting/health assessment forms while onboard.”
The guidelines further stated that on arrival, the returnees’ international passports would be collected for special Nigeria Immigration Service clearance during the period of quarantine after which they would be required by the service to present themselves for necessary clearance.
“Returnees are to be tested during the period of quarantine and on the 14th day of the quarantine, a positive test would necessitate their transfer to an isolation/treatment facility.
“At the end of the quarantine period, evacuees can go home but they will be followed by the surveillance team for another seven days.”
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Recall that the first batch of 264 returnees from Dubai, UAE, landed in Lagos on Wednesday and the returnees were immediately quarantined and their passports temporarily seized.
Another batch of 253 returnees from the UK also landed in Lagos on Friday and after a slight delay, proceeded to Abuja where they will be quarantined for the mandatory 14 days.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has apologised to the returnees for the delay in evacuating them to Abuja.
He explained that the delay was as a result of by the refusal of the British Airways crew to fly them to Abuja because the British nationals they were scheduled to fly back to Heathrow Airport were in Lagos.
Commenting on the incident on Friday during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the minister said, “The challenge we had with the flight is that we had wanted it to come directly to Abuja because that is where the passengers are supposed to be quarantined, but the British (Airways) insisted that the people they wanted to take back to the UK were in Lagos and for them to fly down to Abuja would exceed the balance for the pilot and so this put us in a very awkward position. This (evacuation) involved a lot of coordination; unfortunately, we didn’t get it right.
“This is a most regrettable situation and we apologise wholeheartedly to those passengers. The latest report I heard from Lagos is that they eventually came to Abuja where they would now be quarantined.
