Officials have issued numerous warnings in the past against people illegally buying vaccination cards, issued to those vaccinated, without receiving the vaccine.
The head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, said at a media briefing on Monday, November 15, 2021 that Amako’s vaccination card could not be validated at point of exit.
He said, “Upon investigation, the reason for the non-validation was that the expiry date of the 1st and 2nd dose was altered, there was inconsistencies with the vaccine expiration dates and batch number and the QR code scanned belonged to another person.
“This clearly showed that Mr Amako illegally obtained the vaccination card without getting vaccinated.”
Shuaib said the suspect has been handed over to law enforcement authorities, and would have his full name released upon conclusion of investigation.
The official again warned Nigerians not to buy or sell vaccination cards, further noting that it’s extremely difficult to use fraudulent cards abroad.
A joint task force of security agencies has been tasked with making impromptu checks to deter the practice.
The NPHCDA is running a campaign for Nigerians to confirm the integrity of their vaccination cards by visiting www.vaccination.gov.ng/verification-guide.