By Ishaya Ibrahim
Family members of the COVID-19 index case in Benue State have disputed the claim of the infection.
They alleged that the motive for the dubious claim by the state’s politicians was for a cut of the huge financial donations being announced to combat the spread of the virus by individuals and organizations.
The alleged index case, Susan Idoko Okpe, had flew into Nigeria from the United Kingdom and passed the Abuja airport screening. But after settling in her abode in Benue, she developed a fever.
Her doctors later said that it was malaria and typhoid.
“I was told by my doctors that the standard practice is to call for a test from the state ministry of health. After two days, my temperature normalised from 39:2 to 36;4,” she said.
While she was awaiting discharge from the hospital, little did she know that a press conference was being put together to announce her as the index case for the coronavirus infection in Benue State.
After the press conference, an ambulance came with armed men and removed her from the private hospital where she was recuperating to a quarantine facility.
The Nigerian Xpress, in a report, said the brother of the lady, Felix Lawani, himself a medical surgeon, disputed the claim and alleged mischief by the state government.
According to the report, the brother said while the test of his sister’s sample was being awaited from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in Abuja, the government had long concluded the press conference even without citing the result.