Ebola: Police raid Lagos hotels, arrest 39 foreigners

Men of the Nigerian Police from the Area A Command, Lion Building, Ikoyi, Lagos State, and operatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service, on Friday raided one hotel and a guest house on Lagos Island, arresting 39 foreign nationals over the Ebola Virus Disease scare.

The foreigners identified as 35 from the Democratic Republic of Congo and four Senegalese, were were said to be co-habiting in Benin Hotel and another guest house both situated on Atere street on Lagos Island.

According to security operatives, the raid of the two hotels was motivated by reports from residents of the area who expressed concern that activities of the foreigners, swarming the area, could lead to the spread of Ebola.

It was gathered that the Commander of Area A Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police Imohimi Edgal contacted officials of the NIS and some health workers after the tip-off from residents.

The police said it has placed all the hotels in the area under close surveillance and charged the residents to promptly report any suspicious persons or activities to the police.

A police source said the immigration officials would determine if the suspects are legally residing in the country while the health officials would determine their health status to know if they have the virus or not.