Court Halts Lagos Polio Vaccination Over Consent Issues

Mayowa DurosinmiOctober 16, 20241 Mins read157

Court Halts Lagos Polio Vaccination Over Consent Issues

Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa of the Ikoyi Federal High Court has ordered the Lagos State Government to suspend its planned mass polio vaccination of residents and students.

According to Access24 Network, Justice Lewis-Allagoa ruled on Wednesday, ordering the Lagos State Government, under Governor Babajide Sanwoolu, to halt its HPV/Non-Polio Supplemental Immunisation Integrated Activities (NPSIA) to vaccinate over 18 million residents scheduled to hold on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

The judge ruled that the proposed polio vaccination be halted until Saturday, December 9, 2024, when a Motion on Notice is served on the case for further actions.

Speaking on the court ruling, Mobisola Odimegwu, Lawyer for Equity Initiative International, said: “What the court has pronounced is to halt the proposed mass vaccination of children and residents of Lagos State if there is no written consent by the parents or guardians.”

The lawyer urged the public, Nigerians in general, to look for other preventive measures and be informed about the vaccine’s contents for health safety, “You need to be sure what the contents are,” she said.

Public health is important. Our health, everybody’s health is important and measures can be taken to protect public health but those measures should not jeopardise the health that the measures are seeking to protect,” the lawyer stated.

Odimegwu called on people who are experiencing or suffering damage as a result of any vaccination to come forward, adding, “We would like to know you. We would like to see you and then see what can be done about it.”

She also called for a thorough investigation to inform the public about the effects of vaccination and the need for informed consent.

The lawyer’s recommendations and the court ruling came after a mass planned immunisation, in a partnered exercise between the Lagos State Government and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), was announced and intended to be held in all 57 local government areas of the state.

Meanwhile, several reports have shown new records of polio outbreaks in three LGAs of Yobe State despite being declared a polio-free region, indicating an ineffective outcome after vaccination.

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