In a bid to contain the spread and infection of Ebola virus disease, the Nigeria Custom Service has joined the fight against the dreaded Ebola by impounding a trailer load of smoked meat suspected to be monkey meat being imported into the country through the Jibia border in Katsina state.
Monkey is suspected to be one of the major source of the virus which has caused the death of five Nigerians and others in other countries.
The trailer loaded with the meat was seized by the Federal Operation Unit “zone B” led by OC of the team, Assistant Comptroller, Gambo Azare.
The Nation gathered that the meat was destroyed under the supervision of the Comptroller, Federal Operation, Zone B of the service, ATS Maina and the deputy governor of Katsina State represented by the Commissioner for health.
Maina said that Ebola is a global pandemic which requires intensive surveillance of the nation’s borders to curtail the influx of foreigners and aliens particularly from countries where the outbreak is severe.
He assured that the Customs will intensify surveillance at the borders for the safety of the citizenry and appealed to the people particularly border communities to assist the Customs with useful information to track down unpatriotic persons willing to disobey the law.
The officer who led the operation, Assistant Comptroller, Gambo Azare, told newsmen at the site where the seized meat was destroyed that the driver of trailer conveying the killer meat took to his heels, abandoning the vehicle when the trailer ran into a ditch after a hot chase by his men.
He further said that when the consignment was intercepted, officials of National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was contacted who advised that the seized meat be destroyed within 24 hours.
It was gathered that the Nigeria Custom Service and other government agencies have intensified the surveillance since the outbreak of the Ebola virus especially when report broke that out countries were closing their border to infected countries.
President of Youth Action for Peace Development in Nigeria (YAPDIN), Comrade Suleiman Yero commended the Service for their efforts saying if not for their effort, the level of damage that would have been caused by the meat would have been unquantifiable if they had entered the country.
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