The Senate on Wednesday rejected a proposal for its members to visit the entry points through which a woman infected with Ebola entered the country before she was isolated at a private hospital in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The upper chamber instead urged the federal government to immediately release emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus.

Lawmakers passed the resolutions during plenary while debating a motion to enforce mandatory health screening at all international airports and other entry points to prevent the spread of Ebola and other epidemic-prone diseases.

The motion was sponsored by Francis Faduyile (APC, Ondo South).

Nigeria confirmed an Ebola case on Tuesday. The patient, a woman who recently arrived in the country on an international flight from Uganda, is currently in isolation and receiving medical care at a private hospital in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said 44 people had been identified as the patient’s contacts and that the government was tracking them for isolation.

The motion

Mr Faduyile, a professor of medicine, expressed concern about Nigerians’ safety, noting that no approved vaccine exists for the strain responsible for the outbreak

The senator said Nigeria needed to strengthen surveillance at its entry points in line with the International Health Regulations, without imposing travel bans or engaging in discrimination.

He urged the Senate to encourage the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Port Health Services to make health screening compulsory for all international arrivals at airports, seaports and designated land borders.

Mr Faduyile said the screening should include health declaration forms, temperature checks and symptom assessments. He also called for enhanced screening of passengers who had been in or transited through affected areas within the preceding 21 days, regardless of their nationality or country of departure.

The senator further recommended exit screening for departing passengers during any declared public health emergency.

He urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure all entry points are adequately staffed and equipped with trained port health officers, thermal scanners, protective equipment, and isolation rooms.

The lawmaker also called for functional isolation and treatment centres in all 36 states and the FCT.

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Mr Faduyile recommended reviewing the Quarantine Act of 1926 to align it with modern public health legislation and the International Health Regulations.

He further urged the Senate committees on Health, Primary Healthcare, Development and Disease Control, Aviation, Interior, and Appropriations to work with relevant agencies, visit major entry points and submit a report within four weeks to guide further legislative action.

Debate

Most senators who contributed to the debate supported the motion and its proposed measures.

However, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, while commending Mr Faduyile for sponsoring the motion, objected to the proposal for lawmakers to visit the country’s major entry points.

Mr Akpabio argued the visit was unnecessary, suggesting senators could risk exposure to the virus. He put the proposal to a vote, and most lawmakers opposed the planned visit.

Ekong Sampson, the senator for Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District, said Nigeria needed a stronger health system to protect its citizens from epidemic-prone diseases.

Sadiq Umar, who represents Kwara North Senatorial District, urged the government to deploy appropriate technology to strengthen contact tracing and prevent further transmission of the virus across the country.

Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi Central) described the matter as urgently important to the nation. He called on the federal government to immediately release emergency funds from the Service Wide Vote to contain the outbreak, rather than wait for funds previously approved in the budget to be released.

Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) also called for an amendment to the Quarantine Act.

Uganda’s Ministry of Health has urged the public to remain calm and vigilant following Nigeria’s confirmation of an Ebola case, clarifying that the infected woman’s transit through Uganda does not establish that she contracted the virus there.

In a public statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry said preliminary information indicated that the Nigerian woman travelled to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for business and passed through Uganda in early October without showing symptoms.

She reportedly developed symptoms after arriving in Nigeria, where authorities have confirmed an Ebola infection.

“The location of exposure remains under investigation,” the ministry said, adding that travel through Uganda alone was insufficient to establish where the infection occurred.

The clarification comes as Nigeria intensifies its response to the confirmed case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with health authorities beginning contact tracing to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, confirmed the case on Tuesday. The patient is receiving treatment in isolation at a private hospital in the FCT, while 44 close contacts, including healthcare workers, patients, caregivers and travel contacts, have been identified.

Active cases

The Ugandan health ministry said it had no confirmed active Ebola cases as of the time of its statement.

It also said the Nigerian government had yet to provide detailed information about the woman’s travel itinerary and clinical history, which it said would help guide further investigations and any necessary contact tracing.

The Ugandan health ministry said it was working with relevant agencies to strengthen screening and public health controls at points of entry, following the development.

It added that limited provisions had been maintained for humanitarian and diplomatic movements.

The ministry urged residents to practise regular handwashing and use sanitiser as part of efforts to reduce the risk of infection. It also pledged to provide verified updates through its official communication channels.

Regional outbreak

Nigeria’s confirmed case comes amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC, with infections also reported in other countries.

Kenya, which confirmed its first imported case in early October, reported a ninth case on Tuesday. Its health ministry said all nine cases belonged to one known cluster, with the eight surviving patients responding well to supportive care.

The first Kenyan patient had travelled from the DRC through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi. The development has heightened regional concerns about the movement of the virus across borders.

Uganda also recorded Ebola infections earlier in 2026 but subsequently declared its outbreak over after completing the required period without a new confirmed case.

Nigeria’s current case has renewed attention on the risks posed by international travel during an outbreak, as public health authorities work to establish the source of infection and prevent further transmission.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, or with contaminated materials. Symptoms can include fever, headache, severe weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Health authorities have advised the public to maintain good hand hygiene, avoid contact with the bodily fluids of suspected cases and promptly report possible exposure to public health officials.

Investigations into the Nigerian case and the circumstances surrounding the patient’s travel remain ongoing.