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Saturday, August 30, 2014

Ebola in Rivers, ECOWAS Official May Face Manslaughter Charges

Ebola in Rivers, ECOWAS Official May Face Manslaughter Charges

30 Aug 2014
By James Emejo
 

The Nigerian diplomat attached to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Olubukun Koye who escaped from quarantine in Lagos after testing positive to Ebola virus and travelled to Port Harcourt for treatment, an action that resulted in the death of the doctor who treated him (Iyke Enemuo) may face manslaughter charges.

This is coming on the heels of report that the number of persons under surveillance in the state for Ebola Virus Disease has increased from 100 to 160.

Sources told THISDAY that the issue of Koye (a primary contact of the index case, late Liberian Partick Sawyer) who defied instruction not to leave Lagos after being placed in the isolation unit, was discussed at the Federal Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday and that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoki was directed to look into the Nigerian laws and see how he could be sanctioned for his action that resulted in the death of Enemuo.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Samson Parker while giving an update on the EVD in the state, after recording its first death from Ebola last week Friday, disclosed that the surveillance list had increased to 160.

He said the state’s contact tracing team was working seriously to make sure that the spread of the EVD was contained in the state.

Parker also gave further insight into how the dreaded EVD crept into the state and claimed its first victim.

He said the late Enemuo was aware that Koye, whom he treated, had evaded the surveillance team in Lagos to travel to Port Harcourt.

[snip]

Parker said Koye had returned to Lagos where the surveillance group saw him and tested him of the EVD and that he had tested negative.

He said Koye neither disclosed to the people that he travelled to Port Harcourt nor that he had treated himself of the disease.


According to the commissioner, “When news got to Koye that the doctor that treated him in Port Harcourt had died, he collapsed. It was then he opened up and confessed that Dr. Enemuo had treated him when he travelled to Port Harcourt. He confessed that he sneaked out of Lagos to Port Harcourt”.

However, the authorities of the isolation centre in Lagos never disclosed to the public that an ebola positive patient had escaped from the centre when the incident occured. This information is only just coming to light following the death of a doctor in Port Harcourt... 

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ebola-in-rivers-ecowas-official-may-face-manslaughter-charges/187726/