Ebola Outbreak: Nigeria Assures Public Over Border Safety
Nigeria’s Immigration Service has moved to reassure the public that the country’s land borders pose no unchecked risk of Ebola entry, even as the World Health Organisation places the rapidly expanding outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda under its highest international alert status.
The Nigeria Immigration Service spokesperson, Akinsola Akinlabi, gave the assurance in an interview with Sunday PUNCH on Friday, pushing back firmly against characterisations of Nigeria’s borders as porous entry points for the deadly virus. “Our borders are not porous. Anyone who comes in through our borders is known. They must show proper documents, including an international health certificate,” Akinlabi said. “Our job is to man the borders and ensure that people who shouldn’t be in the country are not allowed into the country.”
Nigeria shares over 4,000 kilometres of land borders with Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, a stretch long associated with informal crossing points beyond official border posts. Akinlabi, however, insisted that every crossing was monitored. “For us, a porous border is one that is not manned. All our borders are manned,” he said, adding that technology was being deployed to cover difficult terrain. He specifically cited the government’s Integrated Border Management System and Migration Information and Data Analysis System as tools strengthening surveillance where physical personnel could not close every gap.
The assurances come at a moment of significant global alarm. As of May 21, 2026, the WHO reported 746 suspected cases and 176 deaths among suspected cases in DRC, with 85 confirmed cases across both countries, including two in Uganda and one confirmed death in Uganda. By May 22, figures had climbed further, with 836 suspected cases and at least 186 deaths reported, making this the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak since the virus was first identified in 1976.
The WHO formally declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on May 17, 2026, following laboratory confirmation of the Bundibugyo virus strain in Ituri Province, northeastern DRC. The outbreak was first flagged on May 5, 2026, when WHO was alerted to a high-mortality cluster of unknown illness in Mongbwalu Health Zone, a busy mining area from which infected persons subsequently travelled to other locations, carrying the virus further. The Bundibugyo strain is a type of Ebola for which there is currently no approved vaccine. Historical data shows case fatality rates in past Bundibugyo outbreaks ranging between 30 and 50 percent. Transmission is now concentrated in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in DRC, with challenges in contact tracing, insecure conditions, and inadequate isolation systems complicating the response. An American national working in DRC has also tested positive and was transferred to Germany for care.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that Nigeria has not recorded any confirmed case linked to the current outbreak. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria also announced intensified health and safety protocols at all international airports, with passengers arriving from high-risk regions undergoing screening for Ebola symptoms and any suspected case to be immediately isolated.
On future response steps, Akinlabi said the immigration service would defer to health authorities. “Normally, we will wait for the advisory from the NCDC and the health ministry in this case. We will listen for their lead. As the Immigration Service, we are ever ready to do our part to ensure that our borders are secured,” he stated.