Ahmad Tijjani Abdul, Kano
Unspecified numbers of air travelers are being detained at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) by officials of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for allegedly entering the country with fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
Multiple sources close to the developing story told this tabloid that the passengers had arrived
Kano airport from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
at about 8:00m aboard Air Badr, a Sudanese airline.
Trouble however started when NCDC officials while conducting checks on the passengers travelling documents discovered nearly all COVID-19 vaccination certificates presented were fake.
An eyewitness, Isa Ali confided in this newspaper that the situation forced the authorities amid safety concerns to disallow anyone from disembarking from the air bus.
The account further explained that after nine hours of faceoff with the authorities, the passengers were ferried into a secure hall at the airport around 5:00pm from where they would be taken to isolation centres for two weeks on quarantine.
When contacted, Ms Maimuna, local spokesperson, Malam Aminu Kano International Airport said she was not in Kano, but promised to make her enquiries and get back.