News
WHO Approves Experimental Ebola Drugs
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele (right), addressing participants at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, recently. With him are Deputy Governor, Finance System Stability, Dr Kingsley Moghalu (middle) and Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Mr Adebayo Adelabu. Photo: NAN
The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday authorised the use of experimental drugs to fight Ebola as the death toll topped 1,000 and a Spanish priest became the first European to succumb to the latest outbreak.
The declaration by the United Nations’ health agency came after a United States company that makes an experimental serum called ZMapp said it had sent all its available supplies to hard-hit countries in West Africa.
“In the special circumstances of this Ebola outbreak it is ethical to offer unregistered interventions as potential treatments or prevention,” WHO Assistant Director General, Marie-Paule Kieny told reporters in Geneva, following a meeting of medical experts on the issue.
The epidemic, described as the worst since Ebola was first discovered four decades ago, has killed 1,013 people since early this year, the WHO said.
Cases have been limited to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which account for the bulk of victims, and Nigeria, where two people have died.
Elderly Spanish priest, Miguel Pajares, who became infected while helping patients in Liberia, died in a Madrid hospital yesterday, five days after being evacuated.
He had been treated with ZMapp, which failed to save him but has shown positive effects on two US aid workers also infected in Liberia.
There is currently no available cure or vaccine for Ebola, which the WHO has declared a global public health emergency, and the use of experimental drugs has stoked a fierce ethical debate.
Despite promising results for the ZMapp treatment, made by private US company, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, it had only been tested previously on monkeys.
ZMapp is also in very short supply but the company said it had sent all available doses to West Africa free of charge after an outcry over its use on foreign aid workers.
“Any decision to use ZMapp must be made by the patients’ medical team,” it said, without revealing which nation received the doses, or how many were sent.
Kieny said WHO had been told three doses were sent to Liberia.
While the ZMapp stock has been exhausted for now, Kieny stressed there were other “potential therapies and vaccines … considered very serious alternatives.”
She said the WHO would convene a new meeting of experts at the end of August to discuss their use.
Two possible vaccines were moving rapidly towards clinical trials, she said, voicing optimism that one could be made widely available by year-end, maybe as early as November.
Kieny described the lack of vaccines and treatments for Ebola as “a market failure,” pointing out that plenty of drugs had been developed “to a point”, but companies had not footed the bill for the more expensive clinical trial process since the virus was “typically a disease of poor people in poor countries where there is no market.”
“This is an opportunity to right a wrong of history,” she said.
The use of unauthorised drugs that had proven safe and effective in monkeys could be a “potent asset” in the fight against Ebola, she said.
But strict criteria applied, including the need for full transparency, and for informed consent from patients — or their families if they are unconscious.
Kieny also stressed the “moral obligation” to collect and share all data generated from their use to help speed up the production of authorised drugs.
Panic has gripped the impoverished West African countries ravaged by the disease, with drastic containment measures causing transport chaos, price hikes and food shortages, and stoking fears that people could die of hunger.
Numerous countries around the globe have imposed emergency measures, including flight bans and improved health screenings.
In Liberia a third province was placed under quarantine on Monday, and state officials were banned from travelling abroad for a month, while those outside the country were ordered home.
Sierra Leonean President, Ernest Bai Koroma, expressed his “utter dismay” at the “slow pace” of the international community in responding to the outbreak.
Eight Chinese medical workers who treated patients with Ebola have been placed in quarantine in Sierra Leone, but Beijing has not said whether they were displaying symptoms of the disease.
In addition, 24 nurses have been quarantined, health officials said, while a physician had contracted Ebola but was responding well to treatment.
The nation’s sole virologist, who was at the forefront of its battle against the epidemic, died from Ebola last month.
Countries around the world were on alert, with Japan saying it was evacuating two dozen staff from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In Senegal, a newspaper editor was detained by police for spreading “false information” after his paper claimed there were five Ebola cases in the country, which authorities have denied.
However, some private hospitals in Lagos yesterday rejected treating patients who visited them with symptoms of fever as part of measures they were taking to prevent contracting the Ebola Virus Disease.
A visit to some hospitals in Lagos metropolis showed that nurses and other health workers, including cleaners were seen wearing face mask and gloves while attending to patients.
Also, some of the health facilities were compelling patients to wash their hands and apply sanitisers before proceeding into their building.
Some of the hospitals visited included Jaycee Hospital, Prime Hospital, Lifeline Children’s Hospital and Providence Hospital.
A Neurologist at Jaycee Hospital, Dr. Francis Ojini, said that his hospital did not attend to patients who had with fever.
Ojini said that it became necessary as health workers were at greater risk of contracting the virus.
“Health workers are the first to be in contact with patients who visited the hospital and so it is necessary we take precautions.
“For now, any illness that has to do with fever is not being attended to as we are trying to be careful because of the new development of the Ebola disease.
“If there is need, we refer patients we feel we cannot treat. We hope we are able to curtail the spread in order to save lives,” he said.
A nurse at the same hospital, who pleaded anonymity, said that nurses wore face mask and gloves when any patients visited the facility.
She said: “We are protecting ourselves from contracting a deadly disease that has no drug or vaccine at the moment.”
Also speaking, the Medical Director, Lifeline Children’s Hospital, Dr. Uche Owowo, said that his hospital was making hand sanitisers available for patients.
Owowo urged the Federal Government and other civil organisations to intensify awareness programmes to educate the masses about the disease.
“Many people still need to know more about the disease, how it can be contracted and how to prevent being infected.
“I believe educating people and making the facilities available and accessible will encourage people to be cautious,” he said.
Efforts to speak with the medical directors and other health workers of Prime Hospital and Providence Hospital proved abortive as they refused to comment.
Meanwhile, the Africa Grassroots Empowerment Organisation (AGEO), has offered the services of its members who are medical personnel to assist the government in the management of Ebola virus outbreak in the country.
The President of the group, Gomene Namene, said his association has 150 medical personnel who are willing to work with the government to contain the spread of the disease, adding that the specialization of the volunteers cuts across the spectrum of medicine.
Namene, who said this at a media briefing in Abuja yesterday, stated that the Ebola virus appeared to be spreading globally, adding that it is necessary to work with all volunteers and medical personnel to combat the disease.
According to him, the group would soon commence its street campaign to sensitize the people on how to stay safe alive and protect themselves from harm.
He said, “We are mindful of the deadly Ebola disease that has broken out in some African countries; as we embark on the sensitization campaigns, our 150-member team of medical experts will be educating the populace on the best ways to live free and safe from Ebola disease.
“We are therefore calling on government to partner with our organisation in order to achieve this.
“Namene said it was interested in working to keep the nation united, and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to put an end to what it called electoral corruption in the country”.
He challenged Nigerians to learn to conduct themselves peacefully during elections, noting that everyone must do everything within the confines of the law to ensure transparent and free electoral process.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has expressed concern over certain unprofessional practices within the surveying profession, urging practitioners to address issues surrounding the acquisition of Rights of Way and seismic operations in the State.
The governor also raised strong objections to what he described as threats to land ownership and title in the State through the alleged issuance of Federal Certificates of Occupancy by the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and other affiliated federal agencies.
According to him, such actions are contrary to Section 1 of the Land Use Act, Cap L5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, which vests all land within a state in the Governor as trustee on behalf of the people.
Fubara made the remarks while speaking as Special Guest at the National Conference of the Association of Private Practicing Surveyors of Nigeria (APPSN), a sub-group of the National Institute of Surveyors (NIS), held at the Obi-Wali Cultural Centre, Port-Harcourt, yesterday.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Benibo Anabraba, the governor also expressed concern over the problem of land grabbing through illegal survey plans and the payment of inadequate compensation to landowners during compulsory land acquisition for oil and gas exploration by licence holders, urging surveyors to uphold professionalism and fairness in their practice.
He said such illegal activities negatively affect the development of the State.
Fubara urged surveyors to promote ethical and sustainable planning practices that protect the environment, including the preservation of green spaces, marine areas, and forest reserves.
He described the role of surveyors as pivotal to the growth, development, peace, and orderly governance of any society.
According to him, the services of surveyors are critical to physical and urban planning, housing development, land administration, and the provision of infrastructure.
He stressed that surveyors play indispensable roles in land use and management, infrastructure provision, environmental management, and conflict resolution, noting that their presence in government ministries, departments, and agencies ensures adherence to best practices.
“The role of surveyors in governance is pivotal to the growth, development, peace, and order of society, particularly in land administration, infrastructure development, environmental management, and conflict resolution,” the governor said.
He noted that the conference theme, “Mapping the Future: The Vital Roles of Surveyors in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry,” was particularly significant to Rivers State, given its position as the hydrocarbon heartbeat of the nation.
The President of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Surv. Pius Eze, urged all participants to optimize the opportunity provided by the conference for professional upgrading and networking, adding that the conference displays consistency of vision and dedication to the welfare of private practitioners.
The National Chairman of APPSN, Surv. Simepiriye Kalio, thanked leaders and members of the association for their sacrifices to achieving the successes recorded.
The Chairman of APPSN, Rivers State chapter, Surv. Andy Nwikinane, said that the association was working with relevant stakeholders to prevent the infiltration of quacks in the profession.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for a generational shift in African leadership, urging countries across the continent to deliberately promote younger leaders between the ages of 25 and 50.
According to him, younger leaders are more physically and mentally equipped for the rigours of modern governance.
Jonathan made the call in Abuja, yesterday, at the International Memorial Lecture and Leadership Conference marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of former Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Muhammed.
Reflecting on the demands of leadership, the former president recalled that while in office, he sometimes had no more than two hours of sleep in 24 hours, stressing that advanced age can limit the capacity to cope with the pressures of governance.
“Why do we begin to think that you must be a hundred years old before you can rule your country?” Jonathan asked.
He noted that leadership requires unusual stamina and resilience, arguing that younger leaders are better positioned to withstand the pressure.
“If they need to stay awake for 24 hours, they can stay awake for 24 hours. When I was in office, some days I did not sleep up to two hours. If you subject an older person to that kind of stress, the person will spend 50 per cent of the time in hospital,” he said.
Jonathan aligned his position with the spirit of Nigeria’s “Not Too Young To Run” movement, which seeks to lower age barriers for elective offices and encourage youth participation in politics.
“I have to reinforce the Not Too Young To Run movement. We have to bring some of these age limits down. If we are looking for people who can run nations in Africa, we should look within the 25 to 50 age bracket. That is when you can be very vibrant, physically strong and mentally sound,” he said.
He also questioned the practice of some public office holders spending extended periods outside their states or countries.
“In a country like the United States, some governors do not leave their states for four years. But here, some of our governors spend 50 per cent of their time outside. So who runs the state? Why will we not have security problems? Coming of age must transcend many things. First and foremost, we must have the discipline to manage ourselves,” he added.
Reflecting on the legacy of General Murtala Muhammed, Jonathan said the late leader demonstrated that age was not a barrier to decisive and visionary leadership. Muhammed became Head of State at 38 and, despite ruling for only 200 days, left a lasting impact.
“General Murtala Muhammed assumed office at the very young age of 38. Despite a tenure of only 200 days, his achievements were profound because he was driven by a clear, unyielding vision.
“His leadership sent a clear message: leadership was to serve the national interest, not personal ambition,” Jonathan said.
The former president also referenced other Nigerian leaders who assumed office at relatively young ages, including General Yakubu Gowon, who became Head of State at 32 and later introduced the National Youth Service Corps, which remains in existence to this day.
“Young man of 32 managed to pull the country through the civil war. So why do we now think leadership must only come at old age?” he asked.
However, Jonathan cautioned that youth alone is insufficient without discipline, patriotism and strong institutions.
While praising Muhammad’s decisiveness, he stressed that democracy depends more on institutions than on individuals.
“Democracy requires vision rather than decree. It requires persuasion instead of command. It depends on institutions, not individuals. Above all, it requires respect for the rule of law and the willingness to submit power to the will of the people,” he said.
He urged African leaders to view governance as stewardship rather than entitlement and encouraged young people to see leadership as service.
“Young people must see leadership as service, not entitlement. Leaders must see governance as stewardship, not a right,” he said.
“I sometimes remember when I contested as a deputy governorship candidate. You had to be 40 years old before you could even be a senator, a deputy governor or a governor, not to talk about president. Yet the Head of State we are celebrating today assumed office at 38,” he added.
Calling on Nigerians and Africans to draw lessons from history, Jonathan said leadership should be measured by impact rather than duration in office.
“As we mark 50 years of General Murtala Muhammed’s legacy, let us remember that leadership is not measured by how long you govern; it is measured by the courage to act decisively when the nation needs direction and by the impact you make on society,” he said.
He emphasised that while military leaders govern by command and authority, democracy demands a different approach anchored on strong institutions, credible electoral bodies, an independent judiciary, well-trained security agencies and accountable governance systems.
“While General Murtala Muhammed symbolised decisive leadership, our democratic future depends on strong institutions. Democracy requires vision rather than decree. It requires persuasion instead of command. It depends on institutions, not individuals. Democracy also demands restraint and respect for the rule of law,” Jonathan said.
The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of two men linked to a criminal syndicate that lured, kidnapped, and robbed women working as “run girls” in Port Harcourt hotels.
The suspects, 27-year-old Albert Koko-Ete Hanson and 18-year-old Wisdom Okon from Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, were apprehended after victims reported the crimes to hotel security.
One of the victims, simply identified as Faith, told the police that she was invited to a hotel under the pretense of a client request and was led to a two-bedroom apartment where the suspects were staying.
She said the suspects showed her a photograph of another woman, whom they claimed was owing them N5 million, and demanded her phone password to access her bank account. Her phone was seized, though she had no money in her account.
Faith also alleged that another female victim had already been tied and blindfolded in a bathroom, and both were later stripped and sexually assaulted, with threats of organ harvesting reportedly made by the suspects.
It was learnt that a third victim alerted friends in the hotel via text message while the suspects tried to access her bank app. The quick action of the hotel security team led to the rescue of all the three victims.
The prime suspect, Albert Koko-Ete, reportedly confessed to the crimes and revealed that he had been operating the syndicate for six years, earning over N18 million naira.
Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Grace Iringe-Koko, warned young women against engaging in prostitution, citing the high risks involved.
Iringe-Koko advised women to acquire skills and seek legitimate means of income, revealing that the syndicate specifically targeted women with high-end devices such as iPhone 15 and above.
The Police confirmed that the suspects’ method involved identifying women they could abduct to extort money from them or their relatives.
The Police said the suspects remain in custody and will be arraigned in court once investigations are complete.
The Command reiterated its commitment to protecting citizens and dismantling criminal networks preying on vulnerable individuals.
King Onunwor
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