250 Ebola volunteers return to Nigeria, EVD free

About 250 Ebola volunteers from Nigeria arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Sunday morning alive, hail and hearty, amidst shouts and songs of victory.

The volunteers joined in the fight against the deadly Ebola Virus Disease in some countries in the West African sub-region.

A chartered Ethiopian Airline, carrying the returnees, who helped in the containment of EVD in Liberia and Sierra Leone, landed in Abuja after being delayed for about nine hours in Freetown over documentation problems.

The flight was scheduled to arrive NAIA,Abuja by 7.30am on Saturday, but was not airborne until three hours later in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone.



The aircraft landed at 2.38am on Sunday morning at the airport, carrying the 250 volunteers, who were deployed in the West African sub-region on December 3.

They each had with them a commemorative plague from Liberian government, bearing the inscription, ‘The Love of Liberty’, a message of gratitude from the Liberian people.

Shouts of jubilation welcomed the volunteers as the first few volunteers alighted from the aircraft.

Security briefing ahead of the contingents’ arrival was already done and provision made for their screening, before they were shuttled to a hotel in the Central Business District of Abuja, ahead of their welcome by President Goodluck Jonathan later on Sunday.

The volunteers did not contact any infection, according to officials on the delegation.

The volunteers had spent between 26 to 42 days under inspection as their stay ended, before their journey back to Nigeria, but would still be put under scrutiny.

A member of the team, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, said, “By the regulation, they have all gone beyond the period (required for monitoring); but we shall apply the same scrutiny to give Nigerians the assurance that nobody is bringing in Ebola again.

“These are the most educated, experienced and exposed individuals in terms of knowledge of Ebola and how to fight it.”