The Comptroller of Nigeria Immigration Service, Seme Command, Comptroller Domyil Barko, has said that there is no case or suspected case of Ebola Virus at Seme Border.
Speaking with newsmen in his office at Seme Border, the Comptroller said the Service has put in place adequate measures to prevent the spread of the deadly disease by carrying out sensitization workshops involving the general public with emphasis on passengers, inhabitants of the border communities, commercial motorcycle (Okada) riders, traditional rulers and other operators at the border.
“Just last week, we educated them on the prevention of the deadly virus and shared to them tracks from the Federal Ministry of Health,” he said, adding “we have also equipped our officers with the neccessary apparatus like hand gloves and masks to protect them while carrying out their duties from contracting the disease from potential carriers.
“We work in concert with the Port Health and other security agencies for effective policing of the border. Unlike before, every passenger coming in or out of the country now undergoes certain scrutiny before being cleared. You know, we cannot stop the movement of people.
“This test is mostly handled by officials of the Port Health who are equipped and trained to carry out such assignments. Ours is to check the travel documents and movements of passengers and hand them over to them,” he said.
On the recent call by the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola on the Federal Government to close down the borders as a means of checking the spread of the virus, Barko said that in his opinion, Ebola has not gone beyond control.
“The Federal Government is doing everything to curb the spread of this virus. I do not think it is neccessary to close the borders. Rather, the government should come up with educative policies and embark on more research to see what can be done to safeguard the lives of the people from Ebola.
“Government should create more isolated centres, print flyers and posters to be given to passengers, create more awareness programmes to educate the people on personal hygiene,” he said.
Comptroller Barko, who assumed office barely two weeks ago, said with the cooperation of everyone, the war on Ebola will be won.
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