Benue COVID-19 index case threatens to sue NCDC if she is not released within 7 days

Susan Idoko, the Benue state COVID-19 index case, has threatened to sue the Nigeria Center for Disease Control NCDC if she is not released from the Abuja isolation center within the next seven days.

Idoko has been having a faceoff with the government since she was diagnosed with the virus. She has been in isolation for 53 days now without showing any symptoms of the disease. She insists she doesn’t have the virus.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire on Wednesday, said Mrs. Idoko had refused to let the NCDC and other medical personnel  take her samples so they can do a final test on her before she is discharged

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday May 15, her lawyer, Mr. Steven Eke said his client has lost confidence in the capabilities of the NCDC. He said Mrs. Idoko demands an independent test to be conducted by the World Health Organization under the supervision of the British High Commission and her personal physician.

The lawyer said the continued detention of Mrs. Idoko,  in the name of isolation is a clear violation of her fundamental human rights and that she will head to court if it persists.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health., Osagie Ehanire, at the daily press briefing of the Presidential Task Force in Abuja on Friday, May 14, said he has persuaded Mrs. Idoko to consent to being tested. He says her sample has been taken and the result will be out in a couple of days.