•Ebola patient arrived Abuja Oct. 3 via Ethiopian Airlines from Uganda – Source *Nigeria confirms first Ebola case is Bundibugyo strain *Uganda seeks details of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case *Nigeria, Uganda collaborating to contain Ebola — FG *Senate, Reps ask FG to make screening mandatory for passengers at all entry points, borders Urge govt to release emergency funds from service-wide votes to relevant agencies to curb disease *To immediately amend Quarantine Act of 1926
By Sola Ogundipe, Health Editor, Henry Umoru, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Omeiza Ajayi, Luminous Jannamike & Gift Odekina
ABUJA — Fresh facts emerged yesterday regarding the travel itinerary of the confirmed Ebola virus patient in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, revealing that the index case entered Nigeria aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight earlier this month.
A highly-placed aviation official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, as she was not authorised to brief the media on the matter, told Vanguard that the patient arrived in the country on October 3, 2026.
This came on a day an emergency meeting of officials of the health ministry revealed the index case detected in the country carried the Bundibugyo strain of the virus which, according to the World Health Organisation, WHO, has no vaccine or specific treatment.
This is even as the Ugandan government asked Nigeria to provide detailed travel and clinical records of the woman, the index case, insisting she didn’t pick the virus in its territory, since there is no Ebola case in Uganda.
Meanwhile, the two arms of the National Assembly, Senate and House of Representatives, have asked the Federal Government to urgently release money to relevant agencies to confront the disease.
According to the aviation official, the patient landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET333.
The revelation provides critical details for contact-tracing, following an earlier official announcement by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, who confirmed the presence of the virus in the nation’s capital.
Pate had disclosed that the female patient had recently returned to Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda and subsequently spent several days receiving care at a private hospital in Abuja before the infection was formally diagnosed.
She has since been transferred to a designated isolation facility where she is currently receiving treatment.
In response, a multi-agency operation involving the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, NCDC, and the FCT Health and Environmental Services Secretariat has commenced extensive contact-tracing.
Public health authorities have so far identified 44 close contacts, including healthcare personnel, fellow hospital patients, caregivers and individuals connected to her travel route.
Consequently, the Federal Government has placed health institutions and port health surveillance units across the country on high alert.
Nigeria confirms first Ebola case is Bundibugyo strain
The first Ebola case detected in Nigeria is the Bundibugyo strain, an emergency meeting on the issue was told yesterday.
“We did three levels of tests, but all molecular. The strain was Bundibugyo,” Olajumoke Babatunde, Director of the Public Health Laboratory Service at NCDC, said yesterday.
The World Health Organization, WHO, which also confirmed that it was the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is still neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment.
“This person is actually a diplomat,” another official said, adding the patient had deteriorated into “multi-organ failure”.
The official did not disclose the nationality of the diplomat.
In August, Uganda was declared officially Ebola-free by WHO after recording 20 cases, almost all people who had travelled from the DRC.
Uganda seeks details of Nigeria’s confirmed Ebola case
In a related development, Uganda has asked Nigeria to provide detailed travel and clinical records of the index case in the country.
The Federal Government had confirmed on Tuesday that the woman recently arrived in Nigeria after travelling from Uganda.
But in a statement, Director-General of Health Services, Uganda Ministry of Health, Prof. Charles Olaro, said the information is required to guide further investigations and determine whether additional contact-tracing was necessary, even as he stressed that the woman’s transit through Uganda did not establish that she contracted the virus there.
The statement, issued in Kampala, said the Ministry of Health is awaiting further information from the Nigerian government to help establish the circumstances surrounding the infection, adding that it would strengthen screening and other public health measures at points of entry in collaboration with relevant agencies.
Preliminary information cited by the Ugandan authorities revealed that the woman, who travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business, transited through Uganda in early October without showing symptoms, but reportedly developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria, as the location where she contracted the virus remained under investigation.
The statement, titled “Reported Ebola Case in Nigeria: Ministry Calls for Calm and Vigilance” read: “The Ministry of Health has noted reports of a confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria involving a Nigerian woman who reportedly travelled to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for business.
“Preliminary information indicates that she transited through Uganda in early October without showing symptoms and developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria. Her transit through Uganda does not establish that she contracted the infection there. The location of exposure remains under investigation.
“The government of Nigeria is yet to provide detailed information on the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history to guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing.
“The ministry wishes to clarify that, as of the date of this statement, Uganda has no confirmed active Ebola cases.”
It said limited provisions had been maintained to facilitate humanitarian and diplomatic movements.
Senate asks FG to make screening mandatory for passengers at all international airports, others.
Nigeria, Uganda collaborating to contain Ebola — FG
But the federal government said yesterday it was collaborating with Uganda to contain the risk of the disease outbreak, assuring Nigerians that public health authorities were coordinating response measures.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists after a meeting at the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Pate was asked to react to reports that Ugandan authorities had said there was no Ebola case in their country, despite reports that a Nigerian woman had contracted the virus in Uganda.
He said Nigeria was working with the East African country, while taking steps to contain the reported case and prevent further transmission.
“All I can tell you is that we are collaborating with our sister African nation of Uganda. What is important is that we have found this one case. We are doing contact tracing, and we are putting containment measures to ensure that it doesn’t go into our population,” the minister said.
Pate said Nigeria had competent public health institutions capable of responding to the situation, citing the country’s experience in managing the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
“We have done it in 2014, and we have good public health institutions,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant but avoid panic, advising the public to rely on information from trusted public health authorities rather than circulate unverified reports.
“Nigerians should be reassured. We must be vigilant, but not panic, and people should respect public health information from trusted sources, and not spread misinformation and false rumours,” he said.
The minister assured Nigerians that the government would continue to provide updates as more information became available.
“We would be truthful to Nigerians with the information that we receive on a daily basis. I will be receiving a report. NCDC has an incident management system,” he added.
Make health screening compulsory at entry points — NASS
Meanwhile, the Senate and House of Representatives yesterday asked the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and the Port Health Services, to make health screening compulsory for all arriving passengers at every international airport, seaport and designated land borders.
In the Senate chamber, senators asked that the screening should also involve temperature and symptom checks, with enhanced screening for anyone who had been in or transited an affected area in the past 21 days, regardless of nationality or county of departure.
Health officials are also to introduce exit screening for departing passengers during any declared emergency.
The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to release emergency funds from the service-wide votes and make necessary funding available to the relevant agencies to curb the disease.
It also asked the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, to fully equip all entry points with trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment and isolation rooms, to ensure that isolation and treatment centres are ready in all 36 states and the FCT.
Resolutions of the Senate yesterday were sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Francis Adedayo Faduyile (APC, Ondo South).
The Upper Chamber also urged the National Assembly to immediately, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, repeal and re-enact the Quarantine Act of 1926 with a modern public health law consistent with the IHR (2005).
Recall that the Quarantine Act Cap Q2 LFN 2004 (originally enacted in 1926) is Nigeria’s primary legal framework for preventing the introduction and spread of dangerous infectious diseases.
In light of recent public health alerts, such as the 2026 Ebola surveillance, the Act empowers the President and governors to declare infected areas, enforce port/border controls, and mandate isolation or vaccination.
The Senate also called Nigerians to be conscious of this development and make adequate arrangements for hand sanitisers at event centres, institutions, private and public places.
However, the motion which mandated the committees on Health, Primary Healthca re, Development and Disease Control, Aviation, Interior and Appropriations to liaise with the relevant agencies, visit the principal entry points, and report back within four weeks for further legislative action, was unanimously rejected by senators.
The Senate mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure implementation of these resolutions.
Earlier in his presentation, Senator Faduyile said: “The Senate: Notes that the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, declared in May 2026 and designated by the World Health Organization as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, now exceeds 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,400 deaths, making it the second largest Ebola outbreak in history, and that there is no approved vaccine or treatment for this strain.”
Reps demand urgent release of health funds, stronger emergency response
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers made similar demands as the senators, urging the Federal Government to strengthen Nigeria’s Ebola prevention and emergency response measures, following reports of a confirmed case in Abuja.
The lawmakers also called for the immediate release of outstanding appropriated funds to relevant health agencies to enhance surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and other measures aimed at preventing further transmission.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Amobi Ogah, who represents Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency of Abia State, at plenary.
Moving the motion, Ogah described Ebola Virus Disease as a severe and potentially fatal infection requiring early detection, strict infection prevention and control, and coordinated public health intervention.
“It is extremely disturbing that yesterday (Tuesday), October 20, 2026, an Ebola Virus case was confirmed in a woman arriving from Uganda in Abuja who tested positive. Health authorities traced 44 contacts for isolation and further tests,” he said.
The lawmaker warned that delays in identifying suspected cases, conducting laboratory tests, isolating infected persons and tracing their contacts could increase the risk of transmission and place additional pressure on the country’s healthcare system.
Presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the House unanimously adopted the motion and called on the Federal Government to immediately mobilise private, state and federal health agencies and place them on high alert to contain the reported outbreak.
The lawmakers specifically urged the Federal Ministry of Finance to release all outstanding appropriated funds to relevant health agencies without further delay.
According to the House, the funding is critical to enable the agencies effectively discharge their responsibilities as the country intensifies surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and other emergency response operations.
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the NCDC to assess the additional resources required to strengthen Nigeria’s preparedness and response capacity, in line with prevailing epidemiological evidence and public health guidance.
Atiku challenges Tinubu to account for N10bn
Reacting to the development yesterday, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, challenged President Bola Tinubu to account for the N10 billion announced for Ebola preparedness, alleging that the confirmed case in Abuja exposed serious gaps in surveillance and the protection of health workers.
Atiku said government must explain how the emergency funds were spent and why the response allegedly left frontline health workers without adequate protective equipment.
He also warned against using the outbreak to restrict political campaigns and voter participation.
In a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku demanded a public audit of the funds and answers over the handling of the case.
“Where is the money? Publish the amount actually disbursed, the dates of payment, every contract awarded, every recipient and every item delivered. A press statement cannot replace an audit,” he said.
Atiku said the patient arrived in Nigeria early October, developed symptoms and sought treatment at a private hospital on October 11, but government did not publicly confirm the case until October 20.
“During that critical period, 44 close contacts were left unmonitored, while private health workers faced the case without adequate protective equipment. This is a failure of preparedness with potentially grave consequences,” he said.
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