Ebola restrictions not rights violation – Lawyer

There have been concerns over the quarantine, temperature tests, border closures and other measures adopted by authorities to curtail the spread of the Ebola virus, which was first brought into Nigeria by Liberian Patrick Sawyer in July.Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Enahoro-Ebah said Section 35(1) (e) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that liberty […]

There have been concerns over the quarantine, temperature tests, border closures and other measures adopted by authorities to curtail the spread of the Ebola virus, which was first brought into Nigeria by Liberian Patrick Sawyer in July.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Enahoro-Ebah said Section 35(1) (e) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that liberty can be denied for persons suffering from infectious and contagious diseases and for purposes of securing the spread of such diseases.
He said the restriction must not be based on mere suspicion, explaining that “if it is on ‘suspicion’, which is not same as ‘suffering’, your liberty is restricted unnecessarily,  you could have a cause of action.”
He expressed hope on the measures put in place by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which placed a moratorium on regional conferences because of the Ebola outbreak that has claimed more than 1, 000 lives in the sub-region.
“Even though there could be constitutional crisis or breach of international protocols, certain measures could be taken by countries to prevent the spread of the disease,” he said.