Reports out of Liberia indicate that 1,300 Nigerian troops constituting part of the peacekeeping contingent have been quarantined after coming in contact with a Sudanese man who later died of the disease.
According to a BBC report, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, which had hitherto denied that such had taken place, has now made a u-turn and acknowledged the troops have been quarantined.
Nigeria, which played a major role in ending the long bloody civil war that ravaged the country between 1989 and 2003, still maintains troops there as part of the United Nations Mission in Liberia.
In recent time, the former American colony has been hardest hit by the Ebola Virus Disease, which has seen more than 2,000 people killed.
Going by current medical protocols as regards EVD, the soldiers will have to be quarantined for at least 21 days to see if anyone of them will manifest the disease.
Unlike Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, Nigeria was able to successfully tackle the EVD outbreak, which incidentally was brought into the country by a Liberian Patrick Sawyer with the lose of only eight lives.
Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters has said that no Nigerian soldier in Liberia has so far tested positive to the Ebola Virus Disease.
In a tweet on Friday, the Nigerian military disclosed: “The troops however remain confined to their camp for preventive purposes and medical observation following the case of a Sudanese UN staff who was reported to have manifested the disease.”
“All necessary steps are also being taken to ensure that none of the Nigerian troops is affected by the disease while serving in Liberia.”
The Defence Headquarters said the clarification became necessary following wide media reports and anxiety over the health condition of Nigerian troops in Liberia.