News
Nigeria Uses Android App with Facebook to Beat Ebola
When Nigeria was hit by its first outbreak of the Ebola virus, health workers monitoring suspected cases armed themselves with mobile phones and an Android app that cut the time it took to report the onset of symptoms.
The app and most of the phones were provided by eHealth & Information Systems Nigeria, a Santa Ana, California-based non-profit research company that operates in the northern city of Kano, according to Bloomberg’s report.
Ebola Alert, a group of volunteers, used Facebook and Twitter to educate Nigerians about the illness.
Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Nigerian unit organized training sessions for journalists on how to use Google Trends to identify top questions most people wanted answered about the disease.
The phone app helped reduce reporting times that would normally take 12 hours by half initially, then 75 percent, before becoming almost real time, according to Daniel Tom-Aba, senior data manager at the Ebola Emergency Operation Centre in Lagos.
Information previously written on forms by hand before being sent to databases could be updated immediately, he said.
Ebola Scourge
“With Ebola, time is very important,” Adam Thompson, the chief executive officer of eHealth & Information Systems, an organization that had gained experience fighting the polio virus in northern Nigeria, said by phone from Kano. “If there’s a two or three-day lag in order to get a contact to the list, this could be a problem. The person could be in a different country by that point.”
Outbreak Contained
After a two-month campaign, during which more than 800 people who came into contact with infected persons were placed under surveillance, Nigerian officials are confident the outbreak has been contained.
The Health Ministry isn’t monitoring anyone at the moment and expects Nigeria to be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization about Oct. 20, spokesman Daniel Nwomeh said by phone on Oct. 3 from Abuja, the capital.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with about 170 million people and the continent’s biggest economy, recorded 19 cases, with seven confirmed deaths and 12 recoveries, according to the Health Ministry. That’s a 40 percent fatality rate for a disease that could kill as much as 90 percent of those infected.
The latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 3,400 people, according to the WHO, making it the worst in history.
Bloomberg reported that eHealth is exporting its app-loaded mobile phones and other tech-based tools to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the three worst-hit countries in West Africa.
Instant Tracking
“We’ve established three operations in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea,” Thompson said in an Oct. 4 e-mailed response to questions from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. “We’re managing about $14 million of private foundation funds to support emergency operations.”
The main lessons in Nigeria were the importance of fast communication and instant tracking.
“One of the key things that worked for Nigeria was the fact that we knew the index case and we were able to trace all the contacts back to him,” Tom-Aba said. “Every contact tracer had a GPS incorporated in their phones so we knew that they had gone to the contact’s house. That built accountability.
Liberian civil servant Patrick Sawyer introduced the virus into Nigeria when he arrived on July 20.
Sawyer and four of the health workers who treated him also died of Ebola. Contact tracers made 18,500 home visits to check on people who may have been exposed, according to a Sept. 30 report on the website of the Center for Diseases Control.
Tablet Scans
Laboratory technicians conducting tests were given tablets to scan and upload results to the emergency center data base.
Field teams in turn got text-message alerts on their phones informing them of the results, he said.
Journalists were also shown how to create visuals using Google Maps and Google Earth to better tell the story.
“From the beginning of August to mid-September, about two terms in the top five searches were Ebola-related,” Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s communications manager for West Africa, said in a phone interview from Lagos on Oct. 6. “We noticed journalists were missing the story because people were asking questions as simple as, what is quarantine?”
Lawal Bakare, a 31-year-old dentist, corralled Facebook friends at home and abroad to create Ebola Alert, which educated Nigerians about the disease online.
Within a week, they formed a partnership with the government to operate a helpline that took 600 calls a day.
The group’s Facebook and Twitter accounts have more than 30,000 followers combined as of Oct. 6, and its website, www.ebolaalert.org, had 4 million hits in August alone, Bakare said.
U.S. Interest
As Nigerians’ interest in Ebola wanes, a growing amount of traffic is now coming from the U.S., which diagnosed its first case of the disease in Dallas last week.
The patient had traveled from Liberia. Bakare estimates that about 21 percent of the group’s followers are now from the U.S.
Fast communication in a country where they are 130 million mobile-phone users had its downside: unsubstantiated rumors.
Some text messages circulated saying that drinking a salt solution would prevent the infection.
At least two people were confirmed dead from drinking too much salt by the Health Ministry.
“As the rumor mongers are generating their rumors, we are countering almost real-time on Twitter especially to manage panic,” Bakare said.
He cited the example of a Lagos church that put up a poster advertising “free immunization” from the virus.
For Nigeria, the next target in the fight against Ebola is to halt its spread in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to Alex Okoh, the director of Port Health Services in Lagos.
“We may be Ebola free, but as long as there’s still an outbreak in the sub-region, we’re still at risk,” she said in an interview. “We can’t let our guard down because we still have people criss-crossing the continent,” Bloomberg reported.
Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has said that Federal Government is intensifying its use of digital-economy initiatives to curb corruption among young Nigerians.
Speaking at the commemoration of the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Day held on Tuesday in Abuja, the AGF said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has deliberately positioned technology, innovation training, and digital-skills development at the heart of its anti-corruption strategy for young people.
The event, organized by Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) domiciled at the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) had the theme: “Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity”.
Fagbemi, who delivered the keynote address, said the government believes that empowered, skilled and economically engaged youths are less vulnerable to corrupt influences.
According to him, programmes such as the 3 Million Technical Talents Programme (3MTT) and the recently launched Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) are already equipping millions of young Nigerians with ICT and digital-innovation skills, reducing their dependence on patronage systems that fuel corrupt practices.
“A hopeful youth is harder to corrupt; an engaged youth is harder to mislead; and an empowered youth is a powerful force for national transformation,” Fagbemi said.
He explained that by investing in digital literacy, tech entrepreneurship and innovation-driven training, the Tinubu administration aims to create a generation of young Nigerians who are globally competitive and resistant to corruption.
Beyond digital skills, the AGF pointed at several government efforts to expand educational access through the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), and support youth entrepreneurship via the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) and the iDICE programme, providing funding, training and mentorship for young innovators in tech, entertainment, agriculture and design.
Fagbemi added that the inclusion of young people in governance, through appointments and expanded civic-engagement platforms, was another strategic tool to strengthen integrity and transparency in public life.
He urged stakeholders to deepen efforts to integrate anti-corruption values into school curricula, establish integrity clubs, mentor young leaders, and leverage ICT tools to promote transparency, whistleblowing and public accountability.
Earlier, the Head of TUGAR, Mrs Jane Onwumere said the gathering was especially meaningful because it reflected a shared truth: that tomorrow’s integrity rests significantly in the hands of the youth.
“The theme therefore, is not just a slogan but a call to action and a reminder that young people are not only beneficiaries of good governance, they are co-architects of it.
“Corruption has affected lives and the economy negatively in many ways. One of such is the “japa wave” which has seen young Nigerians leave the country in droves in search of greener pastures. This syndrome has drained the country of resources and human capital. It has in many situations split the family unit, a critical foundation for anti-corruption efforts”, Onwumere, added.
In his speech, the Executive Secretary, NEITI, Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar expressed the agency’s commitment to empowering young Nigerians not only as advocates for accountability but also as active partners in shaping the future of integrity in the extractive industries and beyond.
“At NEITI, we recognize that corruption undermines opportunities for growth, distorts resource governance, and deepens inequality. We also know that a united, informed, and courageous generation can dismantle these barriers.
“This is why NEITI will continue to expand civic education, strengthen our reporting mechanisms, support youth-led innovation, and create more platforms for constructive engagement with young professionals, students, and entrepreneurs”, he added.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked the Investments and Securities Tribunal to order the freezing of bank accounts belonging to Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) and 25 other defendants accused of defrauding Nigerians of about ₦1.3 trillion through an unlawful digital asset investment scheme.
CBEX
The request was made during the first sitting of the 6th Tribunal in case IST/OA/02/2025 between the SEC and CBEX with 25 others, presided over by tribunal chairman, Hon. Aminu Jinaidu.
The SEC urged the tribunal to compel commercial banks and financial institutions nationwide to freeze all accounts linked to the defendants.
It also sought orders for the seizure of houses and assets allegedly acquired with funds sourced from unsuspecting investors.
According to the commission, CBEX operated illegally by posing as a digital assets platform and capital market operator without registration.
“CBEX is an unregistered platform promising its users 100 percent return on investments within 30 days, which is unlawful and contrary to Section 3(b) of the Investments and Securities Act 2025,” the SEC told the tribunal.
The regulator disclosed that international authorities had previously raised concerns about CBEX.
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong issued an advisory on April 23, 2024, warning that the platform was a suspicious virtual asset entity.
The tribunal noted that CBEX and the other defendants failed to appear in court and were not represented by legal counsel.
Hon. Jinaidu therefore ordered that hearing notices be served on the defendants through national newspapers.
CBEX reportedly entered the Nigerian market in July 2024, operating via a website and mobile application, while claiming to use advanced Artificial Intelligence to generate unusually high profits from cryptocurrency trading.
Investors were promised returns of up to 100 percent within a 40 to 45 day lock-in period.
The scheme later collapsed, triggering widespread losses. Investigations revealed that CBEX functioned as a Ponzi scheme that siphoned more than ₦1.3 trillion, estimated at about $800 million, before disappearing.
The matter has been adjourned to January 27, 2026.
The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, has launched TELE-VET, Nigeria’s first Tele-Veterinary Call Centre, marking a groundbreaking milestone set to transform access to expert animal healthcare using mobile technology.
Speaking at the event held at the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Animal Hospital, Oko-Oba, Agege, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, described TELE-VET as a transformative initiative that strengthens animal health systems, improves food safety, and accelerates agricultural innovation across the state and beyond.
She stated that technology continues to redefine global food systems, and Lagos, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, remains committed to deploying digital solutions that enhance efficiency, empower farmers, and safeguard public health. The Commissioner explained that TELE-VET addresses long-standing challenges faced by farmers and pet owners, especially limited access to timely and professional veterinary care.
Ms. Olusanya highlighted that TELE-VET builds on the existing mobile platforms, M-Agric and M-Health, available on MTN and Glo networks, which provide daily expert tips, mentorship, and animal-care guidance. By dialing *20791#, users can subscribe for ₦100/day, ₦300/week, or ₦500/month, gaining instant access to a variety of services, while all active subscribers can access the Call Centre free of charge.
She added that the Call Centre will deliver emergency support, first-aid guidance, disease-prevention information, and livestock and pet care assistance, noting that the platform helps farmers reduce costs, save time, and access expert care without traveling long distances. She emphasized that TELE-VET will also enhance surveillance and early detection of zoonotic diseases, aligning with the One World, One Health framework that integrates human, animal, and environmental health.
The Commissioner further mentioned that TELE-VET sets the stage for future innovations, including livestock and pet health insurance, e-commerce for veterinary products, improved mobility for safe animal transport, and enhanced financing opportunities for farmers, positioning Lagos as a national leader in technology-driven agricultural transformation.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Mr. Emmanuel Audu, commended the initiative as a groundbreaking intervention that will significantly improve service delivery within the State’s veterinary ecosystem. He stressed that TELE-VET responds to the evolving needs of farmers and pet owners who require swift and professional support to enhance productivity and ensure animal well-being.
Mr. Audu noted that the Ministry has invested extensively in strengthening the infrastructure, technical systems, and human resources needed to operate a world-class veterinary call centre. He stated that the service is a strategic investment in Lagos State’s food security architecture, enabling efficient livestock health management and timely response to potential disease outbreaks.
The Permanent Secretary explained that the Call Centre will minimize animal losses, improve farm management practices, and provide timely advisory services to farmers, aligning with the Ministry’s mandate to promote sustainable agricultural practices across all 57 LGAs and LCDAs. He praised the collaboration among veterinary professionals, ICT partners, and technical teams that made the initiative possible.
Mr. Audu reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to continuously upgrading the TELE-VET platform to accommodate innovations that improve efficiency and expand service offerings. He encouraged residents to adopt the platform fully, noting that its success depends on widespread participation.
In his remarks, the Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Rasheed Macaulay, stated that the launch of TELE-VET marks a new era in veterinary care delivery in Lagos State. He explained that the platform provides a practical solution to challenges such as limited manpower, delayed emergency response, and difficulties reaching farmers in remote areas by connecting residents directly to certified experts.
Dr. Macaulay added that TELE-VET will strengthen disease surveillance and reporting across the State, aiding early detection of animal diseases and preventing zoonotic infections. With real-time consultations, improved documentation, and faster escalation processes, the platform will support frontline veterinarians and promote safer, healthier food systems for all Lagos residents.
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