The Nigerian government, through the Federal Ministry of Health, confirmed an Ebola case in Nigeria.

True Confidence: high

Checked on 21 October 2026 · News Intelligence. Checked by two independent AI checks, editor review pending.

The claim

What we found

The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed on 20 October 2026 that one case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease had been detected in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The patient, a woman who recently travelled from Uganda, is in isolation and 44 close contacts have been identified. The World Health Organization and international news agencies have independently reported the same confirmation.

The reasoning

Context: Nigeria recorded its first Ebola outbreak in 2014 when an infected traveller arrived from Liberia; the country contained it through rapid contact tracing and public health measures. The current case is an imported Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease, the first in Nigeria in twelve years. The Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the WHO are coordinating the response.

Correction: The claim is accurate as stated. An accurate version is: The Federal Ministry of Health confirmed one imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in the Federal Capital Territory on 20 October 2026, in a woman who recently travelled from Uganda; she is in isolation and 44 contacts are being traced.

Sources

FG CONFIRMS EBOLA DISEASE CASE IN FCT, ACTIVATES PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE – Federal Ministry of Health and Social welfare (Supports the claim)

Official statement from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare confirming the Ebola case in the FCT.

Nigeria confirms imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease | WHO | Regional Office for Africa (Supports the claim)

WHO Regional Office for Africa confirms the imported Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease case in Nigeria.

Nigeria confirms Ebola case in patient who arrived from Uganda | Reuters (Supports the claim)

Reuters reports the government's confirmation and the health minister's statements.

Nigeria confirms Ebola case as woman who arrived from Uganda tests positive | AP News (Supports the claim)

Associated Press independently confirms the case and the contact tracing details.

FG confirms Ebola case in FCT, identifies 44 contacts (Supports the claim)

Punch newspaper reports the Federal Government's confirmation and the 44 identified contacts.

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