FG Places 46 Ebola Contacts on 21-Day No-Fly List Across Nigerian Airports
- Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo held a virtual meeting with Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate regarding the Ebola case in Nigeria
- A total of 46 people linked to the affected person, including hospital contacts and domestic staff, were identified for 21-day isolation
- Keyamo directed the NCAA and FAAN to activate no-fly restrictions and heighten Ebola surveillance at all international airports
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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues.
FCT, Abuja - The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has placed 46 people linked to a confirmed Ebola case in Nigeria on a no-fly list.
Legit.ng reports that Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate confirmed that 44 close contacts had been identified and that tracing was underway.
Source: Facebook
Keyamo barred them from air travel for a minimum of 21 days as authorities race to contain the spread of the virus.
He said 44 of the identified contacts were people the affected person encountered at a hospital after she had begun showing symptoms.
The minister added that the remaining two are members of her domestic staff, bringing the total number of tracked contacts to 46.
Keyamo added that the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, shared details of those who had come into contact with the infected individual during a virtual meeting on Wednesday evening, October 21, 2026.
This was disclosed in a statement issued via his X handle, @fkeyamo, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
Why the 21-day restriction was imposed
The 21-day no-fly window aligns with the standard incubation period for Ebola, within which symptoms are expected to manifest in an infected person.
Keyamo said efforts are ongoing to isolate all 46 individuals pending confirmation that they have not contracted the virus.
He said he has directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to immediately notify all local and international airlines operating in Nigeria about the restriction.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has also been instructed to raise its Ebola response and surveillance protocols across all international airports in the country.
Measures already active at Nigerian airports
Keyamo noted that FAAN had already begun implementing a range of precautionary measures following earlier regional outbreak alerts from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
These include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations, and inter-agency coordination with the NCDC.
The minister's directive signals a coordinated response between Nigeria's aviation and health sectors as the country moves to prevent the virus from spreading beyond its current boundaries.
NCDC also listed the key symptoms of Ebola disease and urged the public to practise regular hand hygiene and avoid contact with bodily fluids.
Read Festus Keyamo's X post on the 21-day air travel restriction placed on the 46 Ebola contacts below:
Ebola: Infected diplomat suffers organ failure
Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that a diplomat diagnosed with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in Abuja deteriorated into multi-organ failure, the NCDC confirmed at an emergency meeting.
Nigeria's Health Minister said the government was collaborating with Uganda and conducting contact tracing to prevent the virus from spreading into the wider population.
Anambra, Niger and Ogun states activated emergency health measures, with over 100 persons of interest currently being traced across multiple states.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
