The federal government Thursday vowed to prosecute all violators of COVID-19 protocols at airports, including high-profile Nigerians.
It also asked them to respect themselves by exhibiting conduct befitting their status or risk a maximum of 10-year jail or minimum of two months.
Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika issued the threat at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on the coronavirus response team in Abuja.
Specifically, he said the ministry received lots of inquiries concerning alleged unruly behaviour by some high-profile passengers, including a former Zamfara state Governor Abdulaziz Yari and the incumbent in Adamawa state, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintiri.
Sirika said investigations were ongoing into the alleged unruly behaviours, adding that the violators would be prosecuted.
The minister further said under the aviation laws, violators can be sentenced to the least sentence of two months in jail if found guilty, adding that the government would however apologise to them if wrongly alleged.
Sirika said: “We are equipped with cameras in our airports, we can pick everybody, all security agencies in this country have cameras in the airports, we will take it very seriously, we will investigate and once we found you guilty we will prosecute you.
“So, if you are found to be an unruly passenger because you are a big man, a VIP, the simplest thing we could do is to refer you to the police and they must by law prosecute you, regardless, and it will be not less than two months imprisonment.”
Quoting from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations, he said unruly passengers are defined as anyone who becomes unruly at the airport terminal building or onboard a particular aircraft commits an offence.
“So, first, it is an offense to fight or another carry out any disorderly conduct on board an aircraft or in the terminal building,
“The E part of the regulation states that an unruly behaviour also includes disobedience of lawful instructions issued by the airport commander, the captain or flight cabin crew/attendant, check-in staff, or any lawful staff on lawful duty at the airport.
“So, if you refuse instructions, you have become an unruly passenger. An unruly passenger, according to table 29 (51), says such behaviour requires the punishment or criminal referral for imprisonment between two months and 10 years.”
“Please VIPs, show that you are a VIP by conducting yourself in the manner that you would want to be identified with,” he warned.
Also in his remarks, Minister of Health Ehanire Osagie noted that as the numbers continued to rise in the phase of community transmission, Nigeria, like many other countries, has hardly any other tool left, than to focus on the value of non-pharmaceutical measures for prevention.
“Studies in many countries have confirmed the effectiveness of wearing masks in reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission since it provides mutual protection to all wearers. It is therefore still important, for us not to give up, but all continue to practice these measures, especially using facemasks, physical distancing, and imbibing social courtesies like not sneezing or coughing into open space, but into a tissue, especially with people around,” Osagie said.
The minister said the aim of the Federal Ministry of Health was to reduce fatalities by ensuring those citizens defined as vulnerable to COVID-19 were offered protection by prioritising them for advice on non-pharmaceutical measures like staying home, except for essential activities outside the home, and in such cases, wearing and retaining a mask and avoiding gatherings of persons.
He said: “As you know, the COVID 19 infects people of all ages. However, evidence to date suggests that two groups of people are at high risk of fatal illness on the COVID-19 infection.
“Those people above the ages of 61 years and those with underlying illnesses and conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and those with special diseases such as cancer.
“It is therefore very important that those that fall within this group know how to protect themselves from COVID-19.
“However, even if you’re not at high risk, you must continue to play your part to prevent the spread of the virus from those who are vulnerable and can die from the COVID-19 infection.”
Osagie also said the vulnerable would be prioritised for admission to observation or treatment centers, even if they do not yet have symptoms.
“In this regard, it does not help anyone to continue to deny the presence of COVID-19 in our communities, or to test its virulence by engaging in risky behaviour. The consequences can be dire.
“We urge all shops, businesses, service centers and places authorised to open to the public, to require that their customers and visitors use masks and adhere to these simple measures or else be denied entry.”
“It is also important to state for clarity that masks must cover the mouth and nose, that a mask pushed under the chin is not effective and should not be under the chin for any reason, that we need the mask most, when we are speaking, and it should therefore not be removed to speak, that wearing a face shield alone has not been proven to offer the same protection as a mask and should either be combined with a mask or totally left to healthcare providers, for whom they were actually intended,” the minister said.
Fintiri, Yari fault claim
Debunking the allegation of breach at the airport, GovernorFintiri said the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) lied that he flouted COVID-19 protocols at the Port-Harcourt International Airport Tuesday.
He said he had his temperature and those of his aides checked.
The governor’s media aide, Mr. Solomon Kumangar, said the governor only objected to filling his form, insisting his protocol officer should do that for him.
“Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and his team subjected themselves to protocol, including temperature check. The only thing the Governor took exception to was filling a form as the airport demanded,” he said.
Holding similar position, former Governor Yari said he never assaulted any airport official at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport as claimed by FAAN.
On its official Twitter handle Wednesday, FAAN blasted Yari for breaching the COVID-19 protocol and also assaulting one of its officials at MAKIA Saturday.
In a statement Thursday, Yari’s media aide, Mr Mayowa Oluwabiyi, admitted the ex-governor passed through the Kano airport on the said day but never assaulted any official. .
The ex-governor demanded retraction of the accusation by FAAN and immediate public apology for bringing his name to disrepute.
The statement said: “We wish to state categorically that His Excellency Abdulaziz Yari did pass through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on the said day but did not assault any airport official. He also followed all the COVID 19 preventive protocols set by FAAN.
“The incident cited in the tweet simply never happened. H.E Abdulaziz Yari finds the tweet odious and distasteful, he therefore demands that FAAN retract the offensive tweet and tender an immediate public apology to him for the falsehood published about his person.
“His Excellency Abdulaziz Yari also noted the unwarranted and needlessly vicious attack on his person and reputation by the former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-kayode via his Twitter handle @realffk as a result of the tweet from FAAN earlier on Wednesday.
“We wish to re-affirm that H.E Abdulaziz Yari, the former governor of Zamfara state is a law-abiding Nigerian who will never resort to violence on any issue whatsoever.
“H.E Yari holds the Federal Government of Nigeria in very high esteem and supports all steps taken by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to fight the deadly pandemic.
“However, the vicious attack on the person and reputation of H.E Abdulaziz Yari cannot be winked at. Mr. Femi Fani-kayode will hear from H.E Yari’s lawyers in due course in order to set the record straight.”
