How Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, deliberately infected our staff with Ebola - First Consultant Hospital

Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who brought Ebola into the country, was a bio-terrorist, bent on a mission to deliberately infect as many Nigerians as possible with the deadly virus, the Chief Medical Director of First Consultant Hospital, Benjamin Ohiaeri, has said.

Patrick Sawyer

In a detailed interview with ThisDay newspaper, Mr. Ohiaeri spoke of how Mr. Sawyer lied to his hospital that he had no contact with any Ebola case and how he plotted to be allowed to storm the streets of Nigeria to spread the virus.

He also revealed shocking details of how Mr Sawyer deliberately and systematically infected hospital personnel with the virus.

He said the Liberian- American was not interested in receiving treatment or discussing the option available to him. Rather he demonstrated a deliberate intent to be discharged from the hospital into the public where he would have posed dire public health risk.

According to Mr Ohiaeri, he even deceptively infected a doctor who had gone to appeal to him to be calm following his violent protest to be let out of the hospital to attend a seminal in Calabar.

Mr Ohiaeri said the coldblooded manner Mr Sawyer purportedly went about infecting medical personnel at the hospital even after he was told he might be infected with the highly contagious virus suggested he was on a bio-terrorism mission to Nigeria.

On July 20, 2014, after he became ill on a flight from Monrovia to Lagos, Mr Sawyer was taken to the First Consultant Hospital in Lagos which originally treated him for malaria. But as his health worsened and began to manifest symptoms of Ebola, including diarrhea and vomiting, he was prevented from leaving the hospital.

According to multiple accounts of what happened in the days after he was taken to First Consultant Hospital, Mr. Sawyer went into a fit of rage, yanking off his intravenous line and spilling blood all over the hospital ward after he was told he would not be allowed out of the hospital as he had requested.

Eighteen Nigerians, mostly medical officials of the hospital, were infected with the virus, with seven deaths. All of the infections were traced to Mr Sawyer.

In the ThisDay interview, Mr Ohiaeri said Mr. Sawyer was not “upset” or “surprised” after he was told that he was being investigated for possible Ebola infection suggesting that he already knew that he was a carrier of the disease.

“A reasonable man would flinch when he is informed that he is going to be tested for Ebola. A reasonable man would want to know why the suspicion and what his chances of survival are and how he is going to be treated.”

“A reasonable man would not say “I must leave the hospital now!” This was very strange to us because being an articulate forty-year diplomat we expected some measure of intelligent conversation on this dreaded disease. So, we could not understand why he was so desperate and determined to leave the Hospital when we were clearly trying to investigate his situation and find the way to treat his condition.”

A review of CCTV footage from the James Spriggs Payne’s Airport, Monrovia, by Liberian newspaper, The New Dawn, suggested that Mr Sawyer was already terribly ill when he left Liberia and deliberately avoided contact with people at the airport, which suggested that he might have known he was infected with Ebola.

Though Mr Sawyer told doctors at the First Consultant that he did not have contact with any Ebola case in the weeks before he travelled to Lagos, it has now been revealed that he cared for and attended the funeral of his sister who was killed by the virus in Liberia.

In fact he was asked to stay away from work after he told his employers, ArcelorMittal, an iron mining company, of having minimal contact with his deceased sister.

Mr Ohiaeri also told ThisDay that Mr. Sawyer also deceptively infected one of the doctors who had gone to calm him after he went into a violent rage.

“Dr. Abaniwo, of his own volition, went to try to convince Mr. Sawyer to calm down and give the hospital the chance to make him better. Dr. Abaniwo is a deeply religious man who would have felt convicted to speak to Mr Sawyer – to ensure that he was alright. Sawyer seemed to calm down a little, but he then did something terrible, which caused Dr. Abaniwo to contract Ebola. He asked Dr. Abaniwo to check his eyes because his eyes had been previously injected. It is through this singular act of kindness that Dr. Abaniwo contracted the disease. Sadly, it took the confirmation of Dr. Abaniwo as Ebola carrier for the fullness of his encounter with Mr. Sawyer to be told.”

Mr Abaniwo was one of the seven people who were killed by the virus.

“What was unique about Mr. Sawyer’s condition was that Mr. Sawyer did not want to be treated and he wanted to be a terrorist and go out of his way to infect other people. Ordinary patients don’t do that. It’s bad enough taking care of Ebola and trying to bring in other people to assist. Ebola victims all over the world are begging ‘please come and help me’. But Mr. Sawyer didn’t want to be helped,” Mr Ohiaeri said.

Diplomatic Irresponsibility

Mr Ohiaeri also disclosed how his hospital came under intense pressure, included the threat of legal action and diplomatic row from the Liberian ambassador, Al Hassan Koike, for Mr. Sawyer to be released to attend the seminar in Calabar.

He said his threats were rebuffed by the strong resolve of Ameyo Adadevoh, the Chief Physician of the hospital, who became infected by Mr. Sawyer and later died of the disease.

“As if Sawyer’s behaviour were not bad enough, we soon began to receive irate calls from the Liberian Ambassador, Al Hassan Koike, who had apparently been contacted by Sawyer. The Ambassador repeatedly badgered Dr Adadevoh, ordering that Sawyer be permitted to leave the hospital and telling her that we had no authority or right to keep him. All of Dr. Adadevoh’s attempts to explain the situation, and my subsequent attempts to intervene, were shrugged off. The only thing the ambassador wanted was for Sawyer to be released, otherwise we would face charges of ‘kidnapping’. The threats were ratcheted up to the extent that he accused us of threatening an international diplomatic row, the consequences of which, he insisted, we would sorely regret,” he said.

“I took the phone from Dr. Adadevoh and tried to advise Ambassador Al Hassan Koike about our position, to assure him about our regard for the fundamental rights of Mr. Sawyer, and to advise him of the risks to Sawyer and the general public of failure to properly manage a potential Ebola situation. The ambassador was having none of it.

“Well there have been many thoughts that have crossed my mind as to the role of the Liberian ambassador in trying to secure Sawyer’s release. There is no doubt in my mind that he was a reckless person because a diplomatic mission is supposed to have rules and there is only so much that they can interfere with. Did we tell him it was Ebola? Yes we did and what was his response to that? He asked us “how are you sure”. He accused us of just trying to disparage his country and embarrass Liberia. Even when the results were out and it was confirmed positive by W.H.O lab officials, he said he wanted to see the report. Of course by that time I didn’t have time for him anymore and I just disregarded his requests because I realised that this is someone that is unreasonable. He of course became a non-issue when President Goodluck Jonathan instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to come and talk to me when he heard about it. Once I relayed the full facts to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he immediately fired up a letter of protest to the Liberian government that led to the recalling of the ambassador. It was clear that he had contravened diplomatic protocol and that he had acted in bad faith.”

Mrs. Adadevoh has been posthumously praised for her good judgement in keeping Mr. Sawyer quarantined even before test result confirmed he was a carrier of Ebola at the expense of her wellbeing and for resolutely resisting pressure to discharge him from the hospital with its possible public health risk.

A thoroughbred professional

Mr Ohiaeri paid glowing tribute to Mrs. Adadevoh describing her as a “thoroughbred professional” and one of the most brilliant doctors the country has ever had.

He praised her for her resolve not to succumb to the pressure from Mr. Sawyer and the Liberian Ambassador and putting her life in line for the safety of the populace.

“We all knew Dr. Adadevoh. She is thorough, incisive, competent and compassionate. After 21 years of working with a person, you know them. We trusted her – We trusted her judgement. Here was one situation where the risks to us of getting it wrong was disproportionately insignificant to the risks to Nigerians if we unleashed an Ebola patient on an unsuspecting public. No one would be able to curtail the fallout.”

“Dr. Adadevoh, was one of the most brilliant physicians this country has ever produced. She always asked for the latest infrastructure and was always research oriented. Any medical course anywhere she will come and say “Oga there is something happening in South Africa and I want to go and do this course” and off she went. She attended various medical courses all over the world.

“As professionals, we always equip ourselves with new research orientations and best practices. Of course medical conferences help to build up knowledge, professional relationships and contacts – all of which proved invaluable when this Ebola crisis hit our hospital. We depended a lot and benefitted from our international relationships.”

The interview on which this story was based was first published by THISDAY. We are publishing this excerpt with their permission.

Viewed 1 times
How Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, deliberately infected our staff with Ebola - First Consultant Hospital

Ebola: First Consultant indicts Liberian Ambassador

By Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale

First Consultants Medical Centre, yesterday, indicted the Liberian Ambassador to Nigeria for complicity in the first Ebola case in Nigeria, saying the Ambassador put the hospital under pressure to release Sawyer against the wish of its management.

Patrick Sawyer

The Hospital also alleged that the Ambassador threatened to institute a lawsuit against it if Sawyer was not released.

Briefing journalists for the first time since its reopening in Lagos, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Benjamin Ohiaeri, said:”The ambassador said if we continued to keep him (Sawyer), it would be tantamount to kidnap and abuse of human right. He said if we did not release him, we would be subjecting our hospital to international diplomatic row and we should not rule out the possibility of law suit.”

Ohiaeri said amid pressure to discharge Sawyer, the management immediately conveyed a committee of three who concluded that although Sawyer has the right to sign against medical advice, they would not let him go for public good.

Regretting the loss of his four staff, two doctors and two nurses to the outbreak, he grieved that the entire hospital was bereaved. “As if that was not bad enough for us, the Liberian Ambassador to Nigeria started to put pressure on us that Mr Sawyer had his fundamental human right that he wanted to leave the hospital and he should be allowed to leave .”

“In other words, we have a provision within the law that allows the person to sign and leave the hospital. Meanwhile, there is a superior provision within that law which is that you can decline the patient for public good.”In order to protect ourselves as an institution, we called in our lawyer who drafted for us a resolution, stating that we were not going to let Sawyer out because it will not be in the public good to let him out.”

He also said one of their greatest challenges with Sawyer Ebola virus saga was when he insisted he must be discharged and unleashed his bio-terror on the staff.

Within that time Mr. Sawyer insisted that he wanted to exercise his right to leave the hospital and sign against medical advice and the executive committee of the hospital made up of three of us, myself, late Adadevoh and Dr. Abaniwo, Director clinical services, deliberately agreed that base on the confidence in our legendry physician, Dr. Adadevoh, we will not fall for it.

“Because we did not let him go, Mr. Sawyer unleashed his bio terror on the staff of the hospital. He knew he had the disease, he was angry to the extent that he released his blood to contaminate our people as they came in.

“We lost four of our key staff who included, Dr. Adadevoh, she worked here for 21 years, Dr. Amos Abaniwo, our Chief consultant Anesthesiology and Director of clinical service, had been with us for 16 years. Dr. Adadevoh died leaving the husband and a son, Dr. Abaniwo died leaving his wife and three kids, the third person that died was a nurse Ejeleonu, she just started working with us that day. Unknown to us she was two months pregnant and she died with the pregnancy. The fourth person that died was nurse Evelyn Uko who had been working with us for the past 31 years. She was a widow, a single parent raising four children, she died living those children with us, multiple tragedy because the four children were kicked out of the home because of the stigma. So watching her is a combination of so much burden on First Consultant.

Viewed 1 times
Ebola: First Consultant indicts Liberian Ambassador

Patrick Sawyer deceived us - Ebola survivors

FIVE out of nine survivors of the dreaded Ebola Virus Diseases, EVD, yesterday, met with Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, and some members of the State’s Executive Council, SEC, where they recounted their experiences.

Patrick Sawyer

They include Dennis Akagha, husband of late Justina, a nurse at First Consultant Hospital, Dr Fadipe Akinniyi, Dr. Ibeawuchi Morris, Dr. Adaowa Igowoh and Kelechi Enemuo, wife of late Dr. Iyke Samuel Enemuo, who died of EVD in Port Harcourt.

Three of the survivors who are staff of First Consultant Hospital, contracted the virus from the index case, late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought in the disease into Nigeria on July 20, 2014.

Dr. Igowoh, who was the first to recount her ordeal, described yesterday as a glorious day in her life. She said, “it is a day of joy. I want to say that we are here today because of God. It was He that made us to survive. We are privileged to see this day and to be here with everybody, it is an honour. Thank you so much Governor Fashola, we can’t thank you for everything. We at First Consultants Medical Centre took a risk, we risked our lives because we knew that we wanted to ensure the safety of Lagosians, Nigerians and humanity because we are a global village; from a small village it can spread to the world and we knew the implications, but we said we would risk our lives and we would not let the index case leave the hospital.”

Dr Akinniyi: “I am most happy here today because as matter of fact, when everyone was running helter-skelter, I told myself I only opened the door and by the virtue of that, nothing should happen to me. I never knew I was deceiving myself, until the day I recorded my temperature and there was a kind of spike. I told myself what is going on. Once I have treated malaria a while ago and I told myself that it could be malaria. I used anti malaria drugs but nothing changed, rather it was getting worse. Eventually, I went to a private hospital to treat myself because I did not want to admit it was Ebola. I felt they would be able to proffer solutions to all my problems but it wasn’t to be so. Rather, it was becoming terrible and I started stooling and vomiting.   I summoned the courage and called the doctors at the monitoring units that my temperature has been persistently high.”

Dennis: “I really want to appreciate and commend everything you have done. My case was different, I wasn’t among the doctors, my wife, Justina Echelonu Obioma happened to be one of the nurses that cared for the index case. She got contact with the index case, when she came back home, she told me. We didn’t know what was happening because she was having symptoms. She was two months pregnant. She was feeling feverish. Infact that was her first day on the job, it was her first day and her first patient was Patrick Sawyer. She just resumed that day, I encouraged her to go to work, but she was reluctant because of her situation, but I had to convince her to go and tell them in the Hospital about her condition so that they can give her more time. That was just the first day. When she came back, the following day she went to work again, then the next two days, she was off. We were just at home when the case was announced the case of Sawyer and she told me that she cared for him at the hospital and I asked her if she was sure about what she said, because we have been hearing about it. I asked her what kind of contact she had with him and she said she used protective gloves. Hearing that, I felt rest assured.”

Morris Ibeawuchi: “I was the person that received Patrick Sawyer the day he was rushed to First Consultant Medical Centre. It was like a joke. I did not know what came upon me that day. Unlike me, I was so reluctant to attend to him. But I was compelled by my colleagues to attend to him. When I got there, I was just talking to him. It was very unlike me. Being a doctor, you must examine your patient. After due examination, I asked him some questions. But Patrick Sawyer lied to me, even the ECOWAS Protocol Officer, who sat there, kept quiet.

Collapse at airport

“He asked him why he was in First Consultant. He lied to me that he was in a conference and felt so weak. As a result, people now rushed him to First Consultant not knowing that he collapsed at the airport. On that very day, the ECOWAS Protocol Officer was there and did not say anything. After sometime, I took his samples and sent it to the lab. I also informed Dr. Adadevoh (now of blessed memory). I informed her. She told me to get back to her as soon as the result is out. When the result came out, everything was normal. But that night, the liver function test was not available. I told Dr. Adadevoh about MP result, and she was so confused and shivering because the man came in with a temperature of 39.7.

“She said I should just admit him. We treated him. We commenced with the malaria treatment. The next morning, Dr. Adadevoh came around and we all went there. At that time, the liver function test was already out and the result was so terrible. That made us to be so concerned. After we went around, Dr. Adadevoh went for her daily clinic. It was at that point that one of the ECOWAS officers now came in and brought us information that Patrick Sawyer collapsed at the airport. After that, she asked whether I got the information. That was how the whole thing started. From there, we instituted barrier nursing technique. She tried as much as possible to get through to the Lagos State Ministry of Health. Again, I was asked to get Sawyer’s sample.”

Fashola: However, Fashola, who called for one minute silence for those who lost their lives to EVD, commended the courage of the survivors by coming out to the public to share their experiences and damning possible stigmatization.

He stated: “We sympathize with you for the trauma that you went though. Perhaps it was avoidable. But I am sure that hard lessons have been learnt. Beyond that, I must congratulate you the survivors of the EVD. I felicitate with you and members of your family and friends. But most importantly, I thank you so much for coming forward because you took a great thing and you showed so much courage. And you have helped us to take next step forward. And you have helped us to put an end to the spread of the EVD.”

 

Viewed 1 times
Patrick Sawyer deceived us - Ebola survivors

Ebola: Why Patrick Sawyer travelled to Nigeria

The widow of late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola into Nigeria, has defended her husband’s decision to travel to Africa’s most populous country, saying he did so in desperate search for a country with better healthcare system than his own country.

Decontee Sawyer, the wife of Patrick Sawyer who brought Ebola virus to Nigeria

In an article published earlier today, TMZ Liberia Magazine quoted Decontee Sawyer, who is a radio host in New York, as explaining that Mr. Sawyer had no trust in the healthcare system in Liberia and had possibly headed to Nigeria with the hope of receiving better treatment for his ailment.

Mrs. Sawyer shared her thoughts on her Facebook profile from which TMZ Liberia sourced it for publication.

“I’ve read other reports in other papers (not the New York Times) about Patrick’s “recklessness.” I get where they’re coming from, and they certainly have the right to feel the way they do. However, as Patrick’s widow, I would like to shed some light on this from another perspective. One that only I, his wife, would know,” she wrote.

“I knew Patrick better than anybody else (including himself). He had told me many times in the past how much he didn’t trust the Liberian healthcare system. He would tell me about how a person would get checked in for one thing, and get misdiagnosed and get the wrong treatment as a result. On top of that, Patrick was a clean freak, and told me how filthy a lot of the hospitals were.

“He didn’t tell me this, but I know in my heart of hearts that Patrick was determined to get to Nigeria by all means because he felt that Nigeria would be a place of refuge. He has expressed to me many times in the past that he felt passionately about helping to be a part of strengthening Liberia’s healthcare system, but he knew it wasn’t there yet, and he wouldn’t want to take a chance with his life because a lot of people depended on him… Patrick had a passion for life, and he wouldn’t have wanted his to end. So, I bet anything that he was thinking, if I could only get to Nigeria, a way more developed country than Liberia, I would be able to get some help. How ironic.”

Many Nigerians, and even Liberians, condemned Mr Sawyer for traveling to Nigeria despite knowing that he was carrying Ebola virus before embarking on the trip. Some Nigerians on social media have described him as a “biological terrorist” arguing that he came into the country deliberately to spread the disease.

On Monday in Abuja, President Goodluck Jonathan described Mr Sawyer’s decision to travel to Nigeria as pure “madness” and “craziness.”

“Sawyer that brought this Ebola to Nigeria; his sister died of Ebola. And he started acting somehow, his country asked him not to leave the country, let them observe him, but the crazy man decided to leave and found his way here,” President Jonathan said.

In her post, Mrs. Sawyer wrote that the fact that her husband avoided contact with others at the James Sprigg Payne’s Airport in Monrovia as revealed by airport CCTV footage proved he didn’t set out to infect others with the disease and perhaps his actions were that of a dying man in desperate search for help.

“It has been reported that Patrick avoided physical contact with everyone he came across during his trip from Liberia to Nigeria. When he got to Nigeria, he turned himself in letting them know that he had just flown in from Liberia.

“Patrick went to Nigeria for help so that he can get properly diagnosed, and not misdiagnosed in Liberia. And if it came back that he did have Ebola, he trusted the Nigerian healthcare system a lot more than he trusted the Liberian’s. His action, as off as it was, was a desperate plea for help. Patrick didn’t want to die, and he thought his life would be saved in Nigeria.”

Mrs. Sawyer then took a swipe at the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who said Mr Sawyer was indiscipline and disrespectful for failing to heed medical advise not to travel.

Mrs Sawyer said if President Johnson-Sirleaf had fixed the healthcare system in Liberia, her husband would not have left in search of treatment elsewhere.

“I write today, not simply because of Patrick, but because of the broken healthcare system in the Liberia, and the government’s inability under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (and other past Presidents) to fix it. Good doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers aren’t given the support they need to save lives.

“President Sirleaf went on CNN News throwing stones at Patrick, a man who can no longer defend himself, a man who worked tirelessly for Liberia. She should be ashamed of herself. I use to admire this woman, and was excited and proud of her accomplishment as the first woman President in the entire continent of Africa. She will always own that. We will always own that. It can’t be taken away from her. It’s something to be proud of. But this woman has failed her country,” she wrote.

Nigeria was free of Ebola until July 20 when Mr. Sawyer arrived.

He became terribly ill on his flight and was rushed to the First Consultant Hospital Obalende, Lagos, where he died on July 24.

Nigeria’s Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said on Monday that although the Liberian government has apologized for the incidence, it was pertinent to note that Nigeria was free of Ebola Virus until its importation by the Liberian-American.

Mr. Sawyer’s action, he said, has placed unnecessary stress on Nigeria’s health system.

Since Mr. Sawyer’s death in a Lagos hospital, two other persons who had contact with him have died of the virus. At least eight others have also tested positive to the infection and have been quarantined at a Lagos hospital.

President Goodluck Jonathan has since declared a national emergency on the disease while the federal health ministry in conjunction with health ministries in the 36 states are working to prevent the spread of the virus, which has killed over 1,000 people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Ebola: Why Patrick Sawyer travelled to Nigeria

I owe no one apology for allowing Patrick Sawyer to travel to Nigeria - Liberia"s Deputy Finance Minister

LIBERIA’s deputy finance minister, Sebastian Omar, who cleared Patrick Sawyer to travel, yesterday, defended himself against charges of incompetence for clearing Sawyer to travel to Nigeria for a conference. In the conversation on Facebook tracked by online publication, Premium Times, Omar stood his ground, and revealed that Sawyer was his friend.

Patrick Sawyer

Asked whether Omar saw Sawyer’s blood test results or whether he simply told him it was negative, the minister said, “As his superior, if a man tells you his sister died from Ebola and he could have been exposed do you not think it is your duty to ask the hard questions or maybe you could have reported this to the health officials? Stop making silly excuses as to not being his doctors.

This does not excuse you from asking the questions as a government official that would safeguard the lives of our citizens and your international partners. It is your duty, again as a Government official not wanting to go above and beyond his duty to safe guard our population.

Sebastian Muah Omar Tariq, a friend is dead, I do not owe you any explanation. POS (Patrick Sawyer) was a public health practitioner if you must know. The Ugandan doctor was a medical doctor if you again must know. They are no longer. So the freaking issue is not why he lied or didn’t lie to travel.

But how we address the freaking disease. If you don’t have jack to say in that direction then frankly shut up on the subject. Sebastian Muah doesn’t have time today frankly for your rants.”

Omar Tariq, oh hell yes you do owe Liberians and the international community an explanation Sebastian Muah, this is the complete arrogance of you people in government.

How do you tell us such nonsense. You have through your negligence of not asking the proper questions exposed others to such a horrible Virus and you on here talking bull.

A friend is dead I am sorry but you have some answering to do since you want to brag that you approved his travels.

Sebastian Muah the old people say empty drum can’t make noise. So you will be talking by yourself as I see you don’t know what you are talking about and as a matter of finding solution you do not have any but trying to find blame. Someone must have frustrated the hell out of you in Liberia O…. Take me to the international court since I am guilty of approving a travel.

Viewed 1 times
I owe no one apology for allowing Patrick Sawyer to travel to Nigeria - Liberia"s Deputy Finance Minister

ECOWAS announces death of official, who recieved Liberian, Patrick Sawyer

Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS] has announced the death of one of its staff, Jatto Abdulqudir, who died of the dreaded Ebola virus

“Mr Abdulqudir, a protocol assistant, was among those who assisted the Liberian delegate to a regional meeting Mr Patrick Sawyer, who died from the Ebola Virus Disease at a Lagos hospital on 25th July 2014.”

Patrick Sawyer

The death of the ECOWAS official has now brought to three the number of people who died of Ebola in Nigeria.

The first two were Mr. Sawyer, who brought the Ebola virus into Nigeria, and one of the nurses who treated him at the First Consultant Hospital in Lagos.

Sawyer was to have attended an ECOWAS meeting and Abdulqudir escorted him to hospital in the Ikoyi neighbourhood from Lagos airport, where he arrived on a flight from Monrovia via the Togolese capital, Lome

Read ECOWAS full statement on the passing of the late Mr. Abdulqudir below.

“The ECOWAS Commission announces with deep regret the passing of a staff member of its Lagos Liaison Office, Mr. Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, aged 36.

“Mr. Abdulqudir, a Protocol Assistant, was among those who assisted the Liberian delegate to a regional meeting Mr. Patrick Sawyer, who died from the Ebola Virus Disease at a Lagos hospital on 25th July 2014.

“Mr. Abdulqudir had been under quarantine following that sad incident.

“The Commission wishes to use this opportunity to express its gratitude to Nigerian government authorities and others who contributed to managing the late official while under quarantine. The Management of the Commission wishes to commiserate with Mr. Abdulqudir’s family and colleagues and prays for the repose of his soul.

“Before this sad event, the Commission working in collaboration with Nigerian health authorities, had disinfected all the facilities of the ECOWAS Lagos Liaison Office as part of precautionary measures to safeguard the health, safety and security of staff members, and will continue to monitor the situation.

“Management has also intensified awareness campaign among staff on the deadly virus and uses this opportunity to invoke the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance.

“The Commission wishes to reassure staff of all Community Institutions all over the entire region that it is taking all necessary steps to guarantee their health and safety.

“Furthermore, Management enjoins all staff members and community citizens in general to intensify the observance of personal hygiene. They should also report any suspected case to health facilities and seek medical advice or attention for the effective containment and defeat of the Ebola disease.

“On the directive of regional leaders, ECOWAS has already set up a Solidarity Fund to fight the disease and has solicited the support contribution of Member States and development partners to the Fund to rid the region of the virus.

“The ECOWAS Commission wishes to reiterate its continued commitment to support Member States in confronting this deadly virus.”

Viewed 1 times
ECOWAS announces death of official, who recieved Liberian, Patrick Sawyer

How Liberian Govt cleared Patrick Sawye of ebola to travel to Nigeria

The Liberian Government was aware that Patrick Sawyer, its citizen who brought the Ebola virus into Nigeria, had possibly contracted the virus from his late sister, yet cleared him to travel to Nigeria for a conference organised by the Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS], PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today.

Patrick Sawyer

Documents obtained by this newspaper showed that Mr. Sawyer’s employers, ArcelorMittal, an iron mining company, suspended him from work and isolated him after it became aware that he had contact with his sister who died of the virus on July 8.

The company also issued an internal memo to staff of the company informing them that Mr. Sawyer had been referred to the Liberian Health ministry for testing and close observation.

“A family member of an ArcelorMittal Liberia employee died on Tuesday, July 8th, in Monrovia due to a confirmed case of the Ebola virus,” the July 11 edition of Satellite, an internal newsletter of ArcelorMittal Liberia, said. “The employee had minimal contact with the victim, at the state where the virus was infectious.

“Doctors say the risk of potential transfer to any member of the ArcelorMittal staff or contractors is very low. The employee has submitted to the Ministry of Health for a medical examination for possible Ebola infection, and has also requested the Ministry of Health to make the result available to ArcelorMittal Liberia and its close affiliates.

“There is no evidence to suggest that the employee has been infected. Under the Ministry of Health guidelines, the employee is being monitored on a daily basis and will continue to do so for a period of 21 days. During this time the employee will be absent from work.”

The July 25 edition of the Satellite which announced Mr. Sawyer’s death reads:

“Patrick was last at the Buchanan site (of AncelorMittal) on 9th July when he informed us about the death of his sister. Having informed us of this news, Patrick was submitted to the Ministry of Health for a medical observation and isolation and requested not to return to work until he had passed through the incubation period. He has not been at the Buchanan site or in any ArcelorMittal office since that time.”

But despite being under isolation and observation for the deadly disease, the Liberian Government, through its Deputy Finance Minister For Fiscal Affairs, Sebastian Muah, cleared Mr. Sawyer to travel to Nigeria for an ECOWAS convention in Calabar.

The deputy minister personally admitted approving the trip in an online discussion forum where some Liberian citizens raised questions about his action and competence.

Mr. Muah could not be reached for comments on Monday. His mobile telephone was switched off the numerous times PREMIUM TIMES called.

But the Liberian Minister of Information, Lewis Brown, admitted to this newspaper that his government knew Mr. Sawyer was possibly infected by the virus before he travelled to Nigeria.

“I can confirm to you that he was advised by the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health not to leave the country because he was under observation,” Mr. Brown said by telephone from Monrovia, the Liberian capital. “It was regrettable that he left the country while being observed.

“We felt he had a duty to his colleagues to tell them that he was under observation for the disease. We also felt he had a duty to our country and yours (Nigeria) not to leave Liberia so as not to endanger the lives of others.”

Asked why a Liberian government official approved Mr. Sawyer’s trip to Nigeria even when the administration was watching him for Ebola, Mr. Brown said he had no information that the Deputy Minister, Mr. Muah, okayed the journey.

He however explained that such an administrative slip was possible at the time Mr. Sawyer left Liberia for Nigeria because at as that time, inter-agency cooperation among government departments was low.

“It’s possible the health ministry was monitoring him (Mr. Sawyer) but the finance ministry did not know,” Mr. Brown said. “It was a slip and we have learned from it regrettably.”

He said the Patrick Sawyer incidence had now compelled Liberia to rework its procedures.

“Now the practice is to share the names of everyone under observation with with all other agencies, including the airport, so they cannot leave the country,” the minister said.

“Before the Patrick Sawyer incidence, we did not have that kind of cooperation. We were not locking people under observation down. We were only bringing them to the isolation centre after they show signs of the disease.”

Liberian newspaper, The New Dawn, which saw the CCTV footage recorded at the James Spriggs Payne’s Airport, Monrovia, moments before Mr. Sawyer boarded an Asky Airline plane to Lagos on July 20 reported that he looked “terribly ill” and wore a “sad countenance“ like someone in severe pain.

Apparently overtaken by “excruciating pain,” he, at a point, laid flat on his stomach on the floor in the corridor of the airport.

The paper also reported the footage as capturing Mr. Sawyer sitting alone and avoiding bodily contacts with other passengers who came close to him at the boarding gate of the airport as he awaited his flight to Lagos.

Mr. Sawyer became severely ill on the plane and was taken to First Consultant Hospital, Obalende, from the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.

Reports of events before he travelled to Nigeria and soon after his death have now shown that top Liberian government officials were aware of his trip to Nigeria and did nothing to stop him.

The reports have also shown that Mr Sawyer did not escape from where he was quarantined as reported by some newspapers.

In fact, the actions of some Liberian officials suggested that they were more concerned with getting Mr. Sawyer to the convention venue in Calabar and cared very little about the health risk he posed.

After he died, First Consultant Hospital issued a statement saying it resisted immense pressure from Liberian officials to discharge Mr. Sawyer from the hospital to enable him to attend the convention in Calabar, with diplomats saying he had a key role to play at the convention.

Nigeria was free of Ebola until July 20 when Mr. Sawyer arrived.

He became terribly ill on his flight and was rushed to the First Consultant Hospital Obalende, Lagos, where he died on July 24.

Nigeria’s Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said on Monday that although the Liberian government has apologized for the incidence, it was pertinent to note that Nigeria was free of Ebola Virus until its importation by the Liberian-American.

Mr. Sawyer’s action, he said, has placed unnecessary stress on Nigeria’s health system.

Viewed 1 times
How Liberian Govt cleared Patrick Sawye of ebola to travel to Nigeria