The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, on Wednesday, had a face off with Dubai returnees who staged a protest at a hotel in Lekki where they are being isolated.
According to the evacuees that spoke with our correspondent the commissioner, who was clad in a suit and red tie, arrived at the isolation centre in a black Sports Utility Vehicle around past 12pm.
The evacuees questioned the commissioner for telling the press on Tuesday that one of them died of Covid-19.
They said it was government neglect that led to the death of the evacuee.
Speaking with our correspondent one of the returnees said, “The Lagos Health Commissioner came to visit us and we challenged him for saying that one of us died yesterday. What happened was that one of us had surgery in Dubai and he returned in a wheelchair.
“Instead of taking him to a hospital because he was in critical condition, they decided to keep him in the isolation centre with us for two days and his condition got worse. He was then taken to a hospital where he eventually died. But the commissioner told the public that it was Covid-19 that killed him.
“When we challenged the commissioner, he said he was misquoted by the media. We brought out our phones and told him to say it while we record but he refused.”
The returnees also lamented the quality of food being given to them, adding that it was unfit for human consumption.
However, tensions heightened when the commissioner announced that the government would be administering a test on all of them.
The enraged evacuees said they would not be tested unless their welfare improved.
They subsequently sought to record the commissioner with their phones but he told them not to do so. He eventually hurried into his vehicle and sped off.
“As we were voicing our concerns he ran away! We asked him a simple question! Why we can’t record him if he is sincere? We are being treated like we are in Nazi Germany. At this point we don’t even trust them to test us and give us an accurate result,” he said.
The commissioner did not respond to calls as of press time.
No fewer than 256 evacuated Nigerians arrived in Lagos State from the United Arab Emirates on May 6, 2020.
They arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, via an Emirates Airline about 07.40pm.
While some were lodged in an isolation centre in Lekki, some others were taken to Ajao Estate.
