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Dino Melaye drags speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to court over controversial ‘Control of Infectious Diseases Bill 2020’

Dino Melaye drags speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to court over controversial ?Control of Infectious Diseases Bill 2020?

Senator Dino Melaye has filed a suit against the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and two others, Pascal Obi and
Tanko Sununu, over the controversial ‘’Control of Infectious Diseases
Bill 2020’’. 

The lawmakers who introduced the bill during plenary last week, said
it was designed to prevent the spread or possible outbreak of infectious
diseases.

The bill which is being sponsored by Gbajabiamila, seeks amongst
other things, to empower the Minister of Health to convert any building
into an Isolation center during a pandemic or health crisis while the
police would be able to arrest any individual suffering from an
infectious disease without a warrant.

Section 15 (1) of the bill reads,

“The minister may, for the purpose of preventing the spread or
possible outbreak of an infectious disease, by notification in the
Gazette declare any premises to be an isolation area.”

Subsection 2 reads,

“A notification under subsection (1) shall be effective until the
expiration of such period as may be specified in the notification or
until it is revoked by the minister, whichever occurs first.”

Subsection 3 reads,

“The Director General may, in relation to an isolation area, by
written order prohibit any person or class of persons from entering or
leaving the isolation area without the permission of the Director
General; prohibit or restrict the movement within the isolation area of
any person or class of persons; prohibit or restrict the movement of
goods; require any person or class of persons to report at specified
times and places and submit to such medical examinations, answer such
questions and submit to such medical treatment as the Director General
thinks fit; authorise the destruction, disposal or treatment of any
goods, structure, water supply, drainage and sewerage system or other
matter within the isolation area known or suspected to be a source of
infection; and prohibit, restrict, require or authorise the carrying out
of such other act as may be prescribed.”

The bill also proposes for a polie officer to have the power to arrest, quarantine violators without warrant

Subsection 4 reads,

“A Health Officer or a police officer may take any action that is
necessary to give effect to an order under subsection (3),” while
subsection 5 reads, “Any person who, without reasonable excuse,
contravenes an order under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an
offence.”

Subsection 6 reads

“A person who leaves or attempts to leave or is suspected of having
left an isolation area in contravention of an order under subsection (3)
may be arrested without warrant by any Health Officer or by any police
officer, authorised in writing in that behalf by the Director General.”

While subsection 7 reads

“Goods brought into or removed from an isolation area in
contravention of an order under subsection (3) shall be forfeited to the
Government and may be seized, dealt with and disposed of in accordance
with section 55(2) and (3) as if those goods were any substance or
matter referred to in section 55(1)(c).”

The bill also prescribe a six months jail term for violators of NCDC’s quarantine order.

Section 79 (3) prescribes a N500,000 fine and six-month jail term for
persons who violate the quarantine restriction or refuse to take
vaccinations in case of an outbreak or a suspected outbreak of an
infectious disease in Nigeria such as the ravaging COVID-19.

 “The Minister may, in making any regulations, provide that any
contravention of or failure to comply with any regulation shall be an
offence punishable with a fine not less than N500,000 or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding six months or to both.”

Section 13 of the bill also sought to give the NCDC Director-General
the power to order the isolation of people having or suspected to have
an infectious disease for a period of time subject to the discretion of
the DG. It added that such persons, including those who have recently
recovered or being treated for such a disease, remain in isolation or be
treated in their own dwelling place.

Section 17, under Abatement of Overcrowding, the bill prescribes that
if in the opinion of the NCDC DG, a building is so overcrowded as to
expose the occupants to the risk of infection by an infectious disease,
the DG may by written notice direct the owner or occupier of the
building to abate the overcrowding or to close the building or part
thereof within the time specified in the notice.

The bill listed no fewer than 45 diseases. They include Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Avian Influenza, Campylobacteriosis,
Chikungunya, Fever, Cholera, Dengue Fever, Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever,
Diphtheria, Encephalitis, Viral Haemophilus Influenzae Type b Disease,
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, Hepatitis,  Viral Human Immunodeficiency
Virus Infection, Legionellosis, Leprosy, Malaria, Measles, Melioidosis,
Meningococcal Disease, Mumps, Nipah Virus Infection, Paratyphoid,
Pertussis, Plague, Pneumococcal Disease (Invasive), Poliomyelitis,
Rubella, Salmonellosis and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Others include Swine Influenza, Typhoid, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever,
Sexually Transmitted Infections — Chlamydia Genital Infection; Genital
Herpes, Gonorrhea; Non-Gonococcal Urethritis; and Syphilis.

The second schedule of diseases include; Dangerous Infectious
Diseases, Plague, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Yellow Fever,
Coronavirus disease, Diphtheria, Measles, Polio, and Meningitis.

Melaye has joined many other Nigerians to condemn the bill which has
been widely described as Colonial and Draconian. In his reaction, Melaye
said the bill is against the constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria and an outright abuse of the humanrights of Nigerians. He
pointed out that the bill amongst other things encourages forceful
vaccination of persons against their wish.

On Monday morning, he approached the Federal High Court Abuja to file
a lawsuit against the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila. Others joined in the
suit include the Clerk of the National Assembly, Clerk of the House of
Representatives, Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector
General of Police.

Dino Melaye drags speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to court over controversial ?Control of Infectious Diseases Bill 2020?

No date has been fixed for hearing.

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