About 850 Nigerian soldiers currently in Liberia on a peace keeping mission are set to be quarantined upon return to Nigeria to ensure that the Ebola Virus Disease is not reintroduced into the country
About 850 Nigerian peacekeeping troops serving in Ebola-ravaged Liberia will be quarantined for 28 days when they return to the country, Punch reports.
The soldiers were originally due to return to Nigeria in January 2015 but their homecoming has reportedly been postponed till March 2015.
Liberia has been battling a severe Ebola outbreak since March and as a precaution, the soldiers will be quarantined inGwagwalada, Abuja before being allowed to resume their normal duties.
A source reportedly said:
“You know that our soldiers in Liberia are to return to the country from two mission areas, Liberia and Sudan.
“The men of the Nigerian Army Battalion 43, in Sudan, will arrive in the country in December, and may be allowed to go their units on arrival in the country.
“But the arrival of their counterparts from Liberia, who were initially supposed to arrive in the country in January, will be delayed. The UN has not approved their movement so they will leave Liberia for Nigeria in March.”
“Another thing is that even when they arrive in the country, they will be kept at a military barracks being built at Gwagwalada for 28 days before they are released to go to their units.
“I think the authorities are just being careful; there is no intent to demoralise anybody because we all know the dangers of this Ebola Virus Disease.”
This comes after the Head of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps, Major-General Obashina Ogunbiyi, announced that over 1000 Nigerian soldiers had been quarantined in Liberia after coming in contact with an Ebola-infected Sudanese man.
Ebola was brought into Nigeria by Liberian, Patrick Sawyer but the disease has been successfully contained and the World Health Organization is set to issue an official clearance to the country on October 20.
