The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed on Tuesday that previously suspected Ebola cases in Lagos had tested positive, triggering activation of a national-level emergency operations centre and intensified contact tracing across the state. The agency said the number of traced contacts had risen past 60.

The confirmation followed days of surveillance after the NCDC reported two suspected cases and 53 contacts earlier in the week. Lagos State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi announced tightened screening at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, including temperature checks and passenger declaration forms for travellers from affected regions.

The NCDC said isolation and treatment facilities had been placed on standby and that it was coordinating with the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Agency officials stressed that early case detection and rapid contact tracing remained central to containment.

The outbreak revived memories of Nigeria's 2014 response, when the country contained an imported Ebola case in Lagos after a Liberian-American traveller arrived at the same airport. Public health authorities credited aggressive tracing and isolation for limiting that outbreak to fewer than 20 cases.

"We are deploying all available resources to break the chain of transmission and protect Nigerians," an NCDC spokesperson said, urging the public to report symptoms and avoid stigmatising affected individuals.