Ebola Alert: Lagos Tighten Surveillance at Int’l Airport

The Lagos State Government has stepped up surveillance at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, as fears grow over the possible importation of Ebola Virus Disease into Nigeria.

The move followed renewed Ebola outbreaks in parts of East and Central Africa.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, led a preparedness inspection and facility assessment at MMIA, Nigeria’s busiest international gateway.

Abayomi said the airport remains the country’s most vulnerable entry point for imported infectious diseases because it handles about 70 per cent of international passenger traffic into Nigeria.

He said the state was strengthening systems for early detection, rapid isolation and emergency evacuation of suspected Ebola cases.

According to him, Lagos is also improving digital surveillance and passenger monitoring for travellers arriving from countries considered high-risk.

“The primary purpose of our visit is to understand how we can support your efforts, identify existing gaps and jointly develop practical solutions. Our objective is to create a bottleneck for the virus, not for passengers,” Abayomi said.

The commissioner recalled Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola in 2014 after the virus was imported into Lagos from Liberia.

He said the outbreak remained one of the most important public health lessons in Nigeria’s history.

“Almost eleven years ago, we experienced the importation of Ebola into Lagos from Liberia during the largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history. We were able to contain what became a relatively small outbreak in Lagos, thanks to the sacrifices of dedicated healthcare workers, including the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh,” he said.

Abayomi said the painful memory of the 2014 outbreak was a reminder that preparedness must remain constant, especially in an era of increasing global travel.

He added that lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic also showed the need for closer collaboration between Lagos State and federal agencies operating at the airport.

According to him, such collaboration helped build one of Nigeria’s strongest passenger surveillance systems.

The commissioner disclosed that authorities were considering ways to reduce interaction between passengers arriving from high-risk countries and other travellers without disrupting airport operations.

The inspection involved officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Lagos State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, Port Health Services, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Health, Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi, said airport workers remain Nigeria’s first line of defence against imported 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,” Ogunyemi said.

She said health security must be treated with the same seriousness as every other national security concern.

Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide, also commended the collaboration between airport authorities, Port Health Services and state officials.

Lajide said the partnership was critical to strengthening preparedness against diseases of international concern such as Ebola.

She urged frontline workers to remain vigilant and comply strictly with infection prevention and control protocols.

“As frontline responders, your safety is paramount. Continue to follow all IPC measures diligently because while you are protecting Nigeria from potential health threats, you must also ensure that you are protected from exposure and risk,” she said.

Airport Manager and Regional General Manager, South-West MMIA, Mr. Olatokunbo Arewa, said additional preparedness infrastructure had been deployed across the airport.

He listed the equipment to include touchless hand-sanitiser systems and temperature-detection devices.

Arewa also said discussions were ongoing on dedicated arrival processing channels for passengers coming from high-risk countries.

“Ebola is a highly dangerous disease and any suspected case must be isolated quickly and professionally to prevent transmission,” he warned.

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.

He said the Airport Public Health Emergency Management Team had also been activated.

According to him, a comprehensive risk assessment had been carried out to identify countries of concern and guide surveillance activities at the airport.

Abdullahi added that passenger screening measures were deployed before the activation of the national health declaration platform.

He said traveller information was routinely shared with Lagos State epidemiology teams to strengthen follow-up and response.

General Manager, Aviation Medical Services, FAAN, Dr. Bilkis Ibrahim, said more personal protective equipment, multilingual health advisories and staff training programmes were being deployed for airport workers.

Aeromedical Assessor of the NCAA, Dr. Abayomi Asunbo, also said the authority had directed airlines operating designated international routes to comply fully with public health protocols before passengers are cleared into Nigeria.

Lagos officials, airport authorities and federal agencies pledged to maintain coordinated surveillance, rapid response and information sharing to protect the state and the country from Ebola and other infectious disease threats.

The visit ended with an inspection of major screening points and emergency response facilities at MMIA.