FG Moves to Restrict International Flights Over Ebola Outbreak

The Federal Government has begun fresh emergency measures to prevent a possible Ebola outbreak in Nigeria following rising concerns over reported cases in parts of Africa.

Top government officials on Thursday met in Lagos to review the country’s preparedness and response system as fears grow over the spread of the deadly virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The meeting was chaired by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, at Victoria Island, Lagos. Senior health and security officials were present at the session.

Speaking after the meeting, Gbajabiamila said the government was already considering temporary restrictions on flights coming from countries affected by the virus. He said authorities were determined to avoid a repeat of the health crisis Nigeria faced years ago.

According to him, officials discussed several emergency measures, including tighter checks at airports and isolation procedures for travellers showing symptoms linked to Ebola.

“We have a health scare, which is Ebola, and we all know what happened the last time. The cases are getting worse, internationally and worldwide, and we don’t want to leave anything to chance,” he said.

He explained that the government was examining different options to strengthen prevention across the country’s borders and airports.

“There were three, four areas we looked at. We looked at the issue of possibility, as of now, of restricting flights from countries of interest. We looked at the possibilities of isolating passengers who may exhibit symptoms of Ebola.

“We looked at the possibility of isolating or using the cargo terminal to deal with passengers that are coming in from those areas, and of course, putting certain things in place, protocols in place; we believe that prevention is better than cure, and where some passengers slip through the cracks, then we must have ways of dealing with situations such as that,” he added.

Gbajabiamila disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had already been briefed on developments surrounding the Ebola cases abroad. He said the President directed all relevant agencies to remain alert and ensure Nigeria stays protected from any possible outbreak.

Officials at the meeting included the Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Dr. Jide Idris, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.

The Minister of Interior said the government would intensify monitoring at all entry points into the country, including airports, seaports and land borders.

Tunji-Ojo noted that the Nigeria Immigration Service would work closely with the NCDC and other health agencies to improve early detection and rapid response systems.

Health experts at the meeting also stressed the need for stronger coordination among federal and state agencies, especially in major cities with international travel traffic.

Nigeria gained global recognition in 2014 for successfully containing Ebola after an infected Liberian-American diplomat arrived in Lagos. The outbreak led to multiple infections and deaths before the virus was eventually controlled through aggressive contact tracing and emergency response measures.

Since then, health authorities have repeatedly warned that the country remains vulnerable because of heavy passenger movement across borders and increasing international travel.