How Federal Govt Clamped Down On Fake COVID-19 Card Holders (Photo)

Without doubt, the Nigerian government has tried several ways to eradicate the deadly COVID-19 disease from the country.

Since the first positive case of COVID-19 was detected in Nigeria in February 2020, the Federal Government has continued to intensify efforts to protect the country from disastrous consequences of the disease, especially for the most vulnerable: the elderly, people with comorbidities, health workers and children.

As a matter of fact, the country has made significant gains in terms of public awareness and education on preventive measures and protocols, prioritisation of public health security, availability of vaccines, vaccinating the populace, and the prospect of developing vaccines locally, amongst others. Nigeria’s progress is so laudable that global health bodies like the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and others have described the country’s vaccination strategy and implementation as one of the best in the world and in Africa.

According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in Nigeria, as of August 11, 2022, in 36 States plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 28,163,471 of total eligible persons targeted for COVID-19 vaccination are fully vaccinated while 11,857,978 are partially vaccinated.

However, all these gains and accolades could very quickly evaporate if citizens for which these interventions are meant to protect begin to sabotage the system. Some Nigerians, asides hesitating in receiving the vaccines, have now delved into forgery by procuring the vaccination cards without getting the vaccines. This singular act, according to health experts, puts their entire family, community and the country at risk. It also gives the country a bad name in the international community. Most countries will not permit entry into their space if a person is not vaccinated.

Few days ago, The Nation gathered that between August 3 and 4, five (5) Nigerians intending to travel with fake COVID-19 vaccination cards were apprehended by the officers of the Ports Health Services at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Chief among the illegal procurement narrative is the procuring of these fake cards through travel agents, and a possible connivance with unscrupulous government officials.

On August 3, luck ran out of one traveller, Lawrence AIRE Esechie, who presented a fake COVID-19 vaccination card while trying to pass through the clearance process at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Apparently, he had procured the forged vaccination card for N15,000 from his travel agent, Akeem ADENIJI, who facilitated the procurement through one Loveth Mba JOHNSON, who operates a business centre/travel agency at a park opposite NICON Insurance Plaza, Central Area in Abuja. , in turn, fast-tracked the process through one Precious with phone number 09033304969 (who at the time of this report is still at large). Precious, who also operates a business centre/travel agency, received a sum of N10,000 for her illegal service.

Sadly, the buck does not stop with Precious, as she seems to have an insider within the government who facilitates the process of procuring the fake cards. It is assumed that if Precious is apprehended, she would reveal her source on the COVID-19 vaccination card racketeers.

Also, on August 4, 2022, four travellers were apprehended at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, while also trying to beat the clearance process using fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. These dishonest and unscrupulous Nigerians, according to a document obtained by The Nation, are: Chinemelum Gabriel IHEJIRIKA, Evans Chukwuyem ONYIBE, Stanley Chidubem STEPHEN, and Arinzechukwu Stanley OHIRI. Meanwhile, all the aforementioned suspects have been profiled and documented by the Department of State Services (DSS) unit at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for further action.

The Federal Government has launched an all-out war on such criminal practices, stressing that it would leave no stone unturned in apprehending anyone who runs afoul of the law and will prosecute whoever is found wanting. The good news is that the NPHCDA, in collaboration with other agencies in the Federal Ministry of Health, has developed a technology to authenticate any vaccination card using a QR Code scan.

Leveraging technology to authenticate COVID-19 vaccination cards

Speaking with The Nation, the Head of the ICT Unit at the NPHCDA, Amaka Nwabufo, explained that the agency has an electronic management system for immunisation, which hosts all the COVID-19 vaccination data of individuals that have taken vaccination in Nigeria. Also, each green card (COVID-19 vaccination card) has a QR code.

“When you scan them, whatever information that we have against the client on the Electronic Management of Data (EMID) system will pop up and will enable whatever institution to take a decision on the vaccination history of that individual bearing that card. As it is, it can be verified anywhere in our airports and outside the country, upon scanning the QR code. You can also verify the information of any card bearer by inputting the unique vaccination ID of that person into our verification portal at www.nphcda.verification.com and the information that we have against that individual will pop up.

“Nigerians can use their phones to scan the QR code and their information comes up. We have also made it easy for individuals to update some of their information, while some other information cannot be updated by them. For example, when you scan your QR code and realise that your name is wrongly spelt, you can click on the update button on that e-certificate, which takes you to your profile on our system to be able to correct your name, date of birth, NIN or passport information. But for the vaccine history, you will need to either call our helpdesk or contact any of our national EMID focal persons or state EMID focal persons; we have all their contacts on the application,” she said.

Nwabufo further disclosed there are COVID-19 task forces across the country, and the agency is collaborating with some security agencies like the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), DSS, Police and the Port Health Officers, to ensure that racketeers of the fake cards are apprehended and brought to face the full extent of the law.

She said: “Recently, we have seen a lot of unscrupulous Nigerians, in collaboration with some unpatriotic Nigerians, who are the recorders, using all kinds of means and trying to get people to have those cards and also get them to the system without getting vaccinated. We have also tightened the system. Immediately we get information from a card that we suspect that the person did not receive vaccination, we run the checks and easily detect them.

“Investigation is ongoing regarding those that have been caught. This is because it is not possible that a client or passenger that wants to travel can easily get our cards or even get their records into the system; they work hand-in-hand, maybe with the recorders. Even the travel agents that are involved work hand-in-hand with people that are directly involved with the system. Everybody, to the last person that has access to the system, and has done this, will be picked up wherever they are and then prosecuted for their actions. More people are being connected to the crime because it is a racket.

“The agent we arrested was able to link us to the person that did the card, and unfortunately, the person that had the card is not our recorder. She has also given a link. The number of suspects is increasing. We have the Nigerian law guiding whatever actions or inactions we engage in. The security agencies know better than we do, but we want everyone involved to be treated as a suspect because there is forgery and conspiracy involved.

“Some travel agents have turned themselves into agents for procuring fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. This is usually the major area through which most people get the fake cards. Internationally, all countries will not want anyone that is not fully vaccinated to enter their country. Also, many Nigerians are still very hesitant about taking vaccination; they want to eat their cake and still have it. They also are putting the health of others – whether in the country or their destination – at risk.”

Nigerians urged to report such criminal acts

The NPHCDA has urged well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians to report cases of fake COVID-19 vaccination card sales wherever they come across such. The agency has assured that such people will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Sadly, some travel agencies have embraced unethical dealings in fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. The agency has, however, launched investigations into many of their dealings to apprehend the culprits. To this extent, the NPHCDA is actively working with traditional, religious and community leaders to educate the people on the need to get vaccinated, while also developing strategies to ensure that the underserved and unreached are targeted for vaccination. It launched the S.C.A.L.E.S 3.0 strategy in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination, routine immunisation and other primary health care services. The ultimate aim is to vaccinate 70 per cent of the eligible target population by the end of the year.

Nwabufo added: “Some travel agents, in a bid to offer a full package to their customers, have now included COVID-19 vaccination cards for such people that will not want to get vaccinated. But the agency is taking this very seriously and we will get to them wherever they are if they don’t stop.

“We advise that Nigerians should take the vaccines to protect themselves, their families and the citizens of the country where they reside or travelling to. But if you decide that for whatever reasons you do not want to take it, then you have to go and take the test every 72 hours as specified. We cannot allow people to stay on the fence.

“We do a lot of awareness, collaborate with the Port Health, travelling agent through their platform. We have tried to penetrate wherever we need to penetrate to make sure that the information goes out. In the agency, you find our management officers in almost all the media. We also have social media handles where Nigerians can get verifiable information about COVID-19 and the adverse effect if you are not well-protected. We have all this information in our social media, electronic media, and websites. We also try to reach out to religious organisations, traditional institutions and government.

“In order to report these unethical dealings, we have our COVID-19 help and contact desk where Nigerians can make their reports. They can also make reports to any of the security agencies. You can also send us a chat through our social media handles like Facebook, Twitter and our website. You can also walk into any health center and locate our senior officer in health facilities that is in charge and then make a report. You can make the report anonymously or directly. We promise that when Nigerians make the report, we will not leave them hanging.”

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Source: The Nation