Four Sentenced For Attempting To Escape With A COVID-19 Patient

Four persons have been sentenced by an Ilorin Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for attempting to escape with a COVID-19 patient, at Sobi Isolation Centre in Ilorin.

The four persons AbdulGaniyu Sadiq, Abdullah Isiaka, Sodiq Hakeem and Aremu Wasiu, and they were nabbed trying to escape with a COVID-19 patient Kazeem Oladayo.

As a deterrent, they were sentenced to 14 days self-isolation, by The Chief Magistrate, Mr Bio Solihu, and also pay N20,000 fine each.

Solihu also ordered the NSCDC officers who arrested the violators to liaise with the officers of the correctional centre and the state’s Covid-19 Technical Committee to ensure that the convicts were isolated.

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The convicts by their action, violated the state government’s restriction of movement order and the rules guiding patients at the isolation centre.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp Nasir Yusuf, had urged the court to try the offenders summarily since they had pleaded guilty.

A report  by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) credits Yusuf as saying that the patient was an inter-state driver who came from Lagos to Ilorin.

It will be recalled that last april 2, a suspected COVID-19 patient died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idiaraba Lagos.  Investigations showed that the patient hid his medical and travel history at the point of admission.

It was only discovered that the patient had  travelled to a high-risk country after the patient passed on.

Confirming the death of the patient in a telephone call the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee, CMAC, Professor Wasiu Adeyemo, who admitted that the patient died said, however, everything has to come from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC  but the information is correct.

Asked if there was any test done to confirm whether the death was actually as a result of COVID-1, he said: “The patient earlier presented at Yaba and samples were taken while the patient was waiting for the result, the patient then came to LUTH”