Lagos State has stepped up health surveillance at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) as authorities move to shield Nigeria from a fresh wave of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreaks reported in parts of Central and East Africa.
The state government is advocating measures that will limit interaction between travellers arriving from high-risk countries and other passengers while ensuring smooth airport operations.
Speaking during an inspection and preparedness assessment at MMIA on Sunday, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said the initiative forms part of intensified efforts to prevent the deadly virus from crossing into Nigeria through international travel routes.
The visit came amid growing concern over renewed Ebola outbreaks in several African countries, prompting Lagos, the nation’s busiest international gateway, to strengthen its disease surveillance and biosecurity systems.
Abayomi, who led a delegation comprising the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Dayo Lajide; Director of Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health, Dr Ismail Abdus-Salam; and officials of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), stressed that Lagos must remain vigilant.
The team was received by airport authorities led by the Airport Manager and Regional General Manager, South-West MMIA, Mr Olatokunbo Arewa, alongside representatives of Port Health Services, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other relevant agencies.
During the exercise, officials examined passenger processing systems, disease surveillance frameworks, infection control measures, emergency response plans and areas requiring closer cooperation between state and federal agencies.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s 2014 Ebola experience, Abayomi described the successful containment of the virus after its importation from Liberia as one of the country’s most remarkable public health victories.
He noted that determined contact tracing, surveillance efforts and the sacrifices of frontline health professionals, including the late Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, helped prevent what could have escalated into a nationwide catastrophe.
According to him, the lessons from that outbreak remain relevant as global travel continues to increase the risk of cross-border transmission of infectious diseases.
Abayomi warned that Ebola, COVID-19 and Lassa fever remain serious threats due to the high volume of international movement and stressed that lessons from the COVID-19 era had helped improve collaboration between Lagos State and federal agencies operating at the airport.
Describing MMIA as the country’s foremost international entry point, handling roughly 70 per cent of international passenger traffic, he said the airport remains the most probable gateway for imported infectious diseases.
He explained that the objective of the engagement was to improve detection and rapid response capabilities without disrupting legitimate travel.
“Our objective is to create a bottleneck for the virus, not for passengers,” he said.
The commissioner identified prompt detection, immediate isolation, safe evacuation of suspected cases and enhanced digital monitoring of passengers arriving from countries of concern as key priorities.
Also speaking, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi underscored the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders, noting that airport personnel constitute the first line of defence against imported infectious diseases.
“The frontline actually begins here at our ports of entry.
“As passengers arrive, you are among the very first people to interact with them, making your role critical in our disease surveillance and response efforts,” she said.
Ogunyemi conveyed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s support to airport workers, describing health security as a vital component of national security.
She added that the Ebola threat requires the same level of urgency and commitment devoted to other major security concerns facing the country.
Permanent Secretary, Dr Dayo Lajide, praised airport agencies for their cooperation and urged frontline personnel to maintain strict adherence to infection prevention and control protocols.
She emphasised that safeguarding airport workers was essential to protecting travellers and the wider population.
In his remarks, Airport Manager Olatokunbo Arewa reaffirmed MMIA’s readiness to prevent the entry of Ebola into Nigeria.
He disclosed that additional preventive infrastructure, including touchless hand sanitiser dispensers and temperature screening equipment, had been introduced, while plans were underway to further strengthen passenger screening procedures.
Arewa said collaboration between the airport and Lagos State, which deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains crucial for handling future public health emergencies.
He revealed that authorities are considering dedicated processing channels for passengers arriving from high-risk countries to improve surveillance and enable faster intervention where necessary.
“Ebola is a highly dangerous disease and any suspected case must be isolated quickly and professionally to prevent transmission,” he said.
Providing updates on preparedness efforts, the Head of Port Health Services at MMIA, Dr Lawal Abdullahi, said the airport reviewed and updated its Public Health Emergency Contingency Plan on March 18, 2026, ahead of the latest Ebola developments.
He disclosed that the Airport Public Health Emergency Management Team had already been activated and that a comprehensive risk assessment had identified countries requiring closer surveillance.
Abdullahi added that passenger screening systems were introduced before the activation of the national health declaration platform and that traveller information continues to be shared with Lagos State epidemiology and surveillance teams.
He noted that discussions were ongoing to improve access to surveillance data in order to strengthen contact tracing and monitoring capabilities.
Meanwhile, the NCAA said airlines operating designated international routes have been directed to comply strictly with public health regulations before passengers are allowed into Nigeria.
Similarly, FAAN disclosed that additional personal protective equipment, public awareness materials, multilingual health advisories and staff training programmes are being deployed across airport facilities to boost readiness.
The Head of Medical Services at MMIA, Dr Uche Ofoegbu, said awareness campaigns and staff education programmes had been intensified to ensure airport personnel understand disease surveillance procedures, infection prevention measures and emergency response protocols.
The inspection ended with a tour of key airport facilities and screening points, where state and federal officials renewed their commitment to information sharing, coordinated preparedness and rapid response mechanisms.
Despite the heightened vigilance, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has maintained that there is currently no confirmed Ebola case in Lagos or anywhere in Nigeria.
The agency, however, stressed that sustained surveillance and collaboration remain critical as Ebola outbreaks continue to evolve in other parts of Africa.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Ebola outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is expanding, with rising case numbers, wider geographic spread and ongoing cross-border transmission.
WHO reported that as of May 27, 906 suspected cases, including 223 deaths among suspected cases, had been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The organisation also disclosed that as of May 29, a total of 134 confirmed cases, including nine in Uganda, and 18 deaths among confirmed cases had been reported across both countries.
Additionally, WHO confirmed one case involving a United States citizen who treated patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is currently receiving medical care in Germany.
