The federal government has announced plans to impose restrictions on flights from countries affected by Ebola as part of an effort to prevent an outbreak in the country.

President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday after a high-level strategic meeting held in Victoria Island, Lagos, to review the country’s Ebola preparedness and response mechanism.

The meeting featured key officials, including Jide Idris, the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the interior minister.

Mr Gbajabiamila, who led the meeting, said the planned restrictions will be implemented alongside other measures, including isolation of passengers showing symptoms consistent with Ebola infection at the country’s points of entry.

He noted that Mr Tinubu had been briefed on the situation, adding that the government is committed to ensuring that Nigeria does not record any case.

“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.

“There were three or four areas we looked at. We looked at the issue of the 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,” Mr Gbajabiamila stated.

According to him, the federal government will also consider isolating or using the cargo terminal to handle passengers arriving from those areas.

“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. 

Mr Tunji-Ojo stated that all points of entry into the country will be placed under strict monitoring to forestall a possible outbreak. He added that the Nigeria Immigration Service would deepen collaboration with the NCDC to enhance early detection and rapid response measures.

The NCDC boss also warned that Ebola remains a severe viral disease with no known cure or vaccine, advocating sustained vigilance, particularly among health workers.

“We have our preparedness plan; it’s covering all state governments, all ports of entry. This particular virus has no treatment, no vaccines. So it’s the public health measures that need to be done—isolation, quick detection, public enlightenment, infection prevention, and control,” Mr Idris stated.

No fewer than 220 suspected deaths and 900 suspected Ebola cases had been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo since Kinshasa declared the outbreak on May 15. Five cases and one death had also been confirmed in Uganda, prompting other countries to come up with measures aimed at curtailing the spread of the lethal virus.