Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has raised concerns over Nigeria’s airport screening, border surveillance and infection prevention measures in private hospitals following the reported confirmation of an Ebola case in the country.
Oseni warned that Nigeria must urgently strengthen its preparedness to prevent the disease from spreading, recalling the swift response that helped contain the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, the broadcaster questioned how the woman who reportedly arrived from Uganda was able to enter Nigeria without being detected by airport health screening officials.
He also expressed doubts about the effectiveness of contact tracing, urging health authorities to ensure that every person who may have been exposed to the virus is identified and monitored.
“How did the woman pass through the airport without being detected?” Oseni asked.
He added, “Now that it has happened, how firm is our contact tracing? Are we sure it’s only 44 people the Ugandan woman had contact with? Our contact tracing is never firm enough.”
Oseni argued that Nigeria must not allow the passage of 12 years since the previous outbreak to create a false sense of security, stressing the need for vigilance across the country’s public health system.
He recalled the role played by the late Nigerian doctor, Stella Adadevoh, in the 2014 outbreak, noting that decisive action was crucial in preventing a wider spread of the disease.
The broadcaster called on the Federal Government to strengthen airport health checks, improve surveillance at the country’s borders and ensure that private hospitals strictly observe infection prevention and control procedures.
He also urged Nigerians to return to basic hygiene practices while calling on the government to activate its incident management system across all states rather than concentrating its response on Abuja.
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Oseni cautioned against complacency, emphasising that early detection, effective contact tracing and coordinated emergency preparedness would be critical to containing any potential spread.
Ebola Case In Abuja
The concerns followed the Federal Government’s announcement on Tuesday of an imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the patient is a woman who arrived in Nigeria from Uganda. She reportedly developed symptoms on October 7 and sought medical attention at a private hospital in Abuja on October 11.
The ministry said 44 contacts had been identified and were being monitored, while the patient was placed in isolation.
The outbreak was first declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo on May 15, 2026, and has since been reported in Kenya and Uganda, according to the report.