Sudan denies 26 Nigerians entry on Ebola grounds

The Sudanese authorities have denied 26 Nigerians entry into their country over suspicion that they were possibly infected by the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease, one of those repatriated has told PREMIUM TIMES.

 

Hauwa’u Ibrahim Bakori, a second year student of Pharmacy at Al Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman, said she and 25 others were denied entry after arriving Khartoum Airport on Wednesday.

They were detained, and then deported to Nigeria on Thursday, Ms. Bakori said.
Ms Bakori is in her second year at the Sudanese university and had travelled to Nigeria on holidays.

 
The Nigerians had travelled to Khartoum via an Ethiopian Airline flight ET 910 from Abuja on Wednesday, travelling via Addis Ababa. But on arrival in Khartoum, authorities seized their passports, and arranged boarding passes for them to return to Nigeria. They were sent back to the Nigerian capital via the same Ethiopian Airline on Thursday. They were not tested for Ebola, Ms. Bakori said.
 
The Sudanese government took the measure even though the World Health Organisation declared Nigeria free of Ebola since October 20.

Accroding to Premiumtimes,the Sudanese authorities and the Nigerian foreign ministry could not be reached to comment for this story at this time.