The index case of COVID-19 in Kogi did not contract the
disease from another state as he has not travelled recently, according to his
family members.
In a statement on Friday, Tai Ejibunu, obatebise of Oweland,
said the patient identified as Ahmad Ejibunu, chief imam of Kabba, may have
been infected in Kogi.
NigerianEye had reported how the state recorded its first cases
of the disease who are now known to be the imam and one of his aides.
After the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)
confirmed the cases, the state government rejected the results, accusing NCDC
of perpetrating fraud.
But in the statement, Ejibunu said
there is “no need for Kogi State government to deny the obvious”, adding that
contact tracing had started.
He said the chief imam had been down with flu after which he
was admitted at the Specialist Hospital in Kabba and transferred to the Federal
Medical Centre (FMC) in Lokoja, from where he was referred to the National
Hospital, Abuja, where he tested positive for the virus.
“The family is concerned about the well being of other Owes
and we wish to confirm that Covid-19 has fond its way sadly to our community and
the State,” he said.
“Therefore, no need for Kogi State government to deny the
obvious. We would like to stress that the Chief Imam, of recent, had never
ventured outside Kogi State by way of travelling outside the State. So, the
‘virus’ could have been contacted within.
“We wish to advise our people to please abide by the
protocols emplaced by the NCDC and play safe.”
He added that the family is “cooperating with the Kogi State
Government and the NCDC to stem the spread”, and that contact tracing and testing
of family members of the index case had began.
“What we need from our people is empathy and no need for the
acrimonious exchange of views and counter views,” Ejibunu said.
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