After a five-week long recess resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assembly resumed plenary sessions in both chambers on Tuesday, April 28. The House of Representatives adjourned sitting till Tuesday, May 5, while the Senate adjourned sine die (no scheduled date for the next sitting) but later announced that it will resume sitting on the same day as the Green chamber. The House of Representatives which opted to sit once a week also released a set of guidelines for resumption of proceedings, in adherence to safety measures prescribed by health authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a five-week long recess resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the\nNational Assembly resumed plenary sessions in both chambers on Tuesday, April\n28. The House of Representatives adjourned sitting till Tuesday, May 5, while\nthe Senate adjourned sine die (no scheduled date for the next sitting) but\nlater announced that it will resume sitting on the same day as the Green\nchamber. The House of Representatives which opted to sit once a week also\nreleased a set of guidelines for resumption of proceedings, in adherence to\nsafety measures prescribed by health authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House of Representatives at its plenary, considered a A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Quarantine Act and\nEnact the Control of Infectious Diseases Act, Make Provisions Relating to\nQuarantine and Make Regulations for Preventing the Introduction into and Spread\nin Nigeria of Dangerous Infectious Diseases, and for Other Related Matters (HB.\n836), which scaled first and second readings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill seeks to legislate on the management of infectious diseases in\nNigeria, with the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control\n(NCDC) in the lead for the administration of its provisions, subject to the\nguidance of the Minister of Health in some instances. It also empowers the\nPresident of Nigeria to declare a public health emergency following the\noutbreak or imminent outbreak of an infectious disease likely to result in\nsignificant human fatalities. Dangerous infectious diseases listed in the Bill\nare Plague, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Yellow Fever and\nCoronavirus disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill proposes to confer the Director-General of the NCDC with\ndiscretionary powers to manage and control the spread of infectious diseases in\nthe country. Some of these powers include obtaining necessary information from\nhealth workers on a suspected carrier of an infectious disease or the contact\nof such a person, ordering the isolation\nof such persons, instituting health surveillance programmes, ordering post-mortem\nexamination of a person suspected to have died of an infectious disease; and directing\nvaccination of a person or class of persons not protected against an infectious\ndisease, among other powers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If passed, this Bill may be the only piece of legislation that comes\nclose to addressing public health challenges in Nigeria. However, some of its\nprovisions raise questions that ought to be addressed, among other concerns\ncitizens may have before its passage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the powers the proposed legislation seek to confer on the\nHealth Minister are largely supervisory, some others are more assertive. A\nclause in the Bill empowers the Minister to declare any premises an isolation\narea for the purpose of preventing the spread or outbreak of an infectious\ndisease, by notification in the Gazette, which remains effective until the\nspecified period expires or the Minister revokes it. The Minister is further\nempowered to take necessary actions with respect to such areas, including\nprohibition of movement, disposal or\ndestruction of goods and structures. These powers, although they appear\nnecessary in the circumstances may be too broad and raise human right concerns\non how people and their possessions are handled. The Bill also empowers the\nDirector-General to direct owners or occupiers of buildings to abate\novercrowding or close all or part of the\nbuildings if in the Director-General\u2019s opinion, such buildings are overcrowded\nand the risk of infection of an infectious disease is apparent. Implementation of\nthis provision seems unrealistic considering the housing situation in the\ncountry, with many individuals living in shared homes in high density areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the event of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of an infectious\ndisease, the Bill provides that the Director-General may order any person or\nclass of persons not protected or vaccinated against the disease to undergo\nvaccination. It also makes provisions for parents and guardians to ensure\nvaccination of every child in Nigeria against Diphtheria, Measles, Polio and\nMeningitis. Again, while the aim is to ensure public safety, it appears to be\nfar-reaching, and imposing such decisions on people may be met with resistance.\nIt is important that people are thoroughly educated on these health issues,\nmade to understand the implications and therefore, take decisions to protect\nthemselves and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill empowers the Director-General and Port Health authorities to\nrequire that travelers leaving or entering Nigeria be vaccinated against\nprescribed infectious diseases and produce a valid international certificate to\nthat effect. In the event that such a person has not been vaccinated, to\nrequire the person to do so and subject him\/her to isolation and in the case of\na non-Nigerian who has not undergone vaccination, to refuse entry. This\npractice is not new, as many countries require that travelers who wish to visit\ntheir countries are vaccinated against certain diseases in order to be gain entry into those\ncountries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill creates offences and provides penalties ranging from fines to\nimprisonment terms of up to 2 years. All offences the Bill seeks to create may\nbe tried by a Magistrate Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These offences range from willfully withholding information relevant to\nthe management of an infectious disease from the health authorities, to\nviolating isolation protocols and orders made pursuant to safeguarding public health. The Police is the enforcement\nagency responsible for providing assistance, where necessary to implement the\nprovisions of the Bill. Considering the prevalence of human rights abuses\nperpetrated by law enforcement agencies, in the process of performing their\nlawful duties, it is imperative that personnel of these agencies are properly\ntrained to understand their roles and the extent of force necessary, if any,\nthat may be used to effectively carry out these functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a five-week long recess resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Assembly resumed plenary sessions in both chambers on Tuesday, April 28. The House of Representatives adjourned sitting till Tuesday, May 5, while the Senate adjourned sine die (no scheduled date for the next sitting) but later announced that it will resume sitting on the same day as the Green chamber. The House of Representatives which opted to sit once a week also released a set of guidelines for resumption of proceedings, in adherence to safety measures prescribed by health authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The House of Representatives at its plenary, considered a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Quarantine Act and Enact the Control of Infectious Diseases Act, Make Provisions Relating to Quarantine and Make Regulations for Preventing the Introduction into and Spread in Nigeria of Dangerous Infectious Diseases, and for Other Related Matters (HB. 836), which scaled first and second readings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill seeks to legislate on the management of infectious diseases in\nNigeria, with the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control\n(NCDC) in the lead for the administration of its provisions, subject to the\nguidance of the Minister of Health in some instances. It also empowers the\nPresident of Nigeria to declare a public health emergency following the\noutbreak or imminent outbreak of an infectious disease likely to result in\nsignificant human fatalities. Dangerous infectious diseases listed in the Bill\nare Plague, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Yellow Fever and\nCoronavirus disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill proposes to confer the Director-General of the NCDC with\ndiscretionary powers to manage and control the spread of infectious diseases in\nthe country. Some of these powers include obtaining necessary information from\nhealth workers on a suspected carrier of an infectious disease or the contact\nof such a person, ordering the isolation\nof such persons, instituting health surveillance programmes, ordering\npost-mortem examination of a person suspected to have died of an infectious disease; and directing\nvaccination of a person or class of persons not protected against an infectious\ndisease, among other powers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If passed, this Bill may be the only piece of legislation that comes\nclose to addressing public health challenges in Nigeria. However, some of its\nprovisions raise questions that ought to be addressed, among other concerns\ncitizens may have before its passage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the powers the proposed legislation seek to confer on the Health Minister are largely supervisory, some others are more assertive. A clause in the Bill empowers the Minister to declare any premises an isolation area for the purpose of preventing the spread or outbreak of an infectious disease, by notification in the Gazette, which remains effective until the specified period expires or the Minister revokes it. The Minister is further empowered to take necessary actions with respect to such areas, including prohibition of movement, disposal or destruction of goods and structures. These powers, although they appear necessary in the circumstances may be too broad and raise human right concerns on how people and their possessions are handled. The Bill also empowers the Director-General to direct owners or occupiers of buildings to abate overcrowding or close all or part of the buildings if in the Director-General\u2019s opinion, such buildings are overcrowded and the risk of infection of an infectious disease is apparent. Implementation of this provision seems unrealistic considering the housing situation in the country, with many individuals living in shared homes in high density areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the event of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of an infectious\ndisease, the Bill provides that the Director-General may order any person or\nclass of persons not protected or vaccinated against the disease to undergo\nvaccination. Again, while the aim is to ensure public safety, it appears to be\nfar-reaching, and imposing such decisions on people may be met with resistance.\nIt is important that people are thoroughly educated on these health issues and\nmade to understand and take decisions to protect themselves and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill empowers the Director-General and Port Health authorities to require that travelers leaving or entering Nigeria be vaccinated against prescribed infectious diseases and produce a valid international certificate to that effect. In the event that such a person has not been vaccinated, to require the person to do so and subject him\/her to isolation and in the case of a non-Nigerian who has not undergone vaccination, to refuse entry. This practice is not new, as many countries require that travelers who wish to visit their countries are vaccinated against certain diseases in order to be gain entry into those countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill creates offences and provides penalties ranging from fines to\nimprisonment terms of up to 2 years. All offences the Bill seeks to create may\nbe tried by a Magistrate Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These offences range from willfully withholding information relevant to\nthe management of an infectious disease from the health authorities, to\nviolating isolation protocols and orders made pursuant to safeguarding public health. The Police is the enforcement\nagency responsible for providing assistance, where necessary to implement the\nprovisions of the Bill. Considering the prevalence of human rights abuses\nperpetrated by law enforcement agencies, in the process of performing their\nlawful duties, it is imperative that personnel of these agencies are properly\ntrained to understand their roles and the extent of force necessary, if any,\nthat may be used to effectively carry out these functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n