Chidi Odinkalu Reacts To WHO’s Report That Nigeria Has No Ebola Case After Evacuation Of Index Case To Switzerland

Chidi Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer and former Chairman National Human Rights Commission, has questioned the Nigerian government’s reported financial commitments to Ebola contact tracing following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) confirmation that the country currently has no reported cases of the disease.

Odinkalu raised the concerns after a report by Nairametrics stated that Nigeria had no active Ebola cases following the medical evacuation of the country’s index patient and her husband to Switzerland.

Reacting in a post on X, Odinkalu questioned the rationale behind the reported decision to place people who had come into contact with the patient on salaries and set aside N10 billion for the exercise, particularly given what he described as inadequate funding for the Federal Ministry of Health.

“So, #Nigeria’s #IndexCase has been ‘exported’ to Switzerland with her husband and the country currently has no reported case of #Ebola,” he wrote.

The lawyer further alleged that the Nigerian government had committed substantial funds to compensate people involved in the contact-tracing process, despite the reported absence of active cases in the country.

“Yet @NigeriaGov claims it has placed the people who came in contact with her on a handsome salary for doing so and has set aside N10bn for that purpose in a country where the @Fmohnigeria lives like an unfunded mandate,” Odinkalu stated.

He subsequently questioned the government’s priorities, asking, “Can someone pls make this make sense?”

The comments have drawn attention to questions about public spending, health-sector funding and the government’s approach to preventing the potential spread of infectious diseases.

However, the reported absence of confirmed Ebola cases does not necessarily mean that contact tracing and surveillance are no longer necessary. Public health authorities typically continue monitoring exposed individuals to identify potential infections and prevent further transmission.

The reported N10 billion allocation and the alleged salary arrangements cited by Odinkalu were not independently substantiated in the information provided. Further clarification from the relevant authorities would be needed to establish the purpose, scope and status of the funding.

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