Korede Abdullah 
Lagos Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi
LAGOS, Nigeria – The Lagos State Government has intensified disease surveillance and preparedness measures at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) amid growing concerns over the Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa.
Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, announced the measures during an inspection of the airport on Sunday, stressing the need for heightened vigilance as the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda battle a resurgence of the disease.
Leading a delegation of health officials, including Special Adviser on Health Kemi Ogunyemi, Abayomi said Lagos remains particularly vulnerable because it handles nearly 70 per cent of Nigeria’s international passenger traffic.
“Our objective is to create a bottleneck for the virus, not for passengers,” he said.
Officials reviewed passenger movement systems, emergency response plans, disease surveillance mechanisms and infection prevention procedures during the visit.
Abayomi recalled Nigeria’s successful containment of Ebola in 2014 after an imported case arrived from Liberia, describing the response as one of the country’s greatest public health achievements.
He paid tribute to the late Ameyo Adadevoh and frontline health workers whose sacrifices helped prevent widespread transmission.
According to the commissioner, lessons learned from Ebola and COVID-19 have strengthened collaboration between state and federal health agencies.
He identified early detection, rapid isolation, safe evacuation of suspected cases and digital monitoring of travellers from high-risk countries as key priorities.
The renewed alert follows concerns over the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
Health authorities say surveillance at ports of entry remains critical to preventing the virus from entering Nigeria.
About the Author
Hussaini Ibrahim 
Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Oluwafunbi Bello 