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Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) Wraps Up First Phase In Kano State

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L-R: Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Kano State Chapter, Rev. Adeolu Adeyemo; State Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kano Command, Dr. Abdul Ibrahim; Permanent Secretary, Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Alhaji Auwal Sanda; Senior Manager, Program Implementation, MTN Foundation, Abasi-Ekong Udobang; Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Kano State Ministry of Health, Pharmacist Umar Abdu Madaki and Director, Training and Planning, Kano State Ministry of Youth and Sports, Dr Abdu Muhammed at the State Roundtable for the MTN-led Anti Substance-Abuse Programme (ASAP) in Kano on Thursday, July 25th, 201
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Health experts and partner organisations, led by MTN Nigeria, have concluded the pilot phase of the multi-stakeholder intervention in the fight against substance abuse among youth in Nigeria.

After seven months of multiple hard-hitting on-ground activities in Abuja, Lagos, Imo, Rivers, and Bauchi states, the first phase of the widely successful multi-stakeholder Anti-Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) ended in Kano State on Friday, 26th July 2019.

The programme, which is geared at combating the increasing rate of first-time drug-use among young Nigerians, was built on a multi-sectoral approach that amasses a network of stakeholder organisations spanning non-profit organisations, regulatory agencies, professional associations, advocacy champions and individual experts.

Stakeholders include the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); the Police; Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN); Christians Against Drug Abuse Mission (CADAM); Freedom Foundation, etc.

During a courtesy visit by MTN ASAP team to the Government House in Kano State, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, Deputy Governor of Kano State commended the effort of the MTN foundation in the fight against substance abuse. “I want to thank MTN foundation, we see all the good works you’ve been doing.

“It is truly commendable especially against substance abuse and wellness of communities with the ‘What Can We Do Together’ initiative.

“The government of Kano is not also sitting back with this menace of substance abuse.

“We are already working towards setting up an agency to look into substance abuse and we will very much like to work with MTN on this important project.

“There is so much we can achieve if we collaborate. We have a huge problem on our hands but I am confident we can defeat this problem especially when corporations become more aware and responsible just like MTN has done”.

Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, gave a glimpse into the programme’s future: “After embarking on this project that has taken us through various nooks and crannies of the country, and listening to the feedback from thousands of young students and volunteers, it has become apparent that our mission has only just begun.

“For the millions of young Nigerians on the verge of the decision on first-time drug-use, we will continue this campaign aimed at dissuading them.

“We are humbled by what we have all been able to achieve with the pilot and are expectant for the millions that will be reached in the subsequent phases.”

Millions of young Nigerians have been inspired by the programme’s multi-faceted approach that has included direct engagement, digital empowerment, stakeholder collaboration and media advocacy.

Following activations in over 125 secondary schools, 16 tertiary institutions, 30 motor parks and markets, influencer workshops, plans are being implemented for an even more targeted second phase. This is expected to continue to affect wide-sweeping changes in various states in Nigeria.


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Ugo Onwuaso is an ICT enthusiast. He believes technology should be used for general good. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Lagos state University. Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

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EFCC Recovers Funds, Arrests Suspects in N1.3 Trillion CBEX Crypto Fraud

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Ola Olukoyede, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has revealed that the agency has recovered some money from the digital investment platform Crypto Bridge Exchange trading platform that crashed last month leaving many investors weeping and counting their losses.

In an interview with TVC on Sunday, May 25, Olukoyede also disclosed that the EFCC has made arrests in connection with the CBEX fraud. He added that the EFCC has made significant progress in its investigation into the crypto scheme that scammed many Nigerians.

“We have gone far with CBEX. We have been able to recover a reasonable amount of money”he said

Olukoyede explained further that although the stolen money was in cryptocurrency, the EFCC has managed to trace and recover part of it. He however mentioned that converting the funds back to dollars in cash was not easy because it required going through similar crypto processes.

“Even though in the crypto wallet, the same way the money was taken from them. There is no way you will get them in dollars. There is no way you get the dollars in cash without necessarily going through the same process.”he said

The EFCC boss added that some suspects have already been arrested, noting that the agency is still pursuing others who are on the run.

“We have gone far. We have made a reasonable arrest. We are not going to give out much because we don’t want the process to be disrupted. We are still after quite a number of people we have declared wanted,” he said.

He, however, said the investigation has been challenging because the fraudsters used “non-custodial wallets,” which means there was no identity attached to the accounts, making it harder to trace the criminals.

“We are still investigating a lot of wallets and the wallets they created are called noncustodian wallets; in other words, no KYC. So, you can’t trace it to anybody.

So, from the noncustodial wallet, they moved it to some wallets in Europe, Eastern Europe, particularly Cambodia and from there, they dispersed the money. We have been able to block some of these wallets where money has not been dispersed.

That is to the extent that we have gone. I even learnt that there are still some of these perpetrators and Nigerians are still falling victim. I believe people should learn from this” he said.

In April, CBEX collapsed, leaving investors with reported losses of over N1.3 trillion.

The platform became inaccessible after users faced repeated withdrawal issues, which were soon followed by the sudden disappearance of their account balances.

The incident, however, triggered widespread reactions, especially on social media, where users have voiced their anger, concerns, and disappointment.

Despite this, CBEX resumed operations, announcing fresh withdrawal options in a move to restore investor confidence.


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Toll Collection on Lagos-Calabar Highway Begins December

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Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has announced that a section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be tolled starting in December.

Umahi disclosed this during an interview for a forthcoming State House documentary marking the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said: “By December, we will toll Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. We project a 10-year return on investment.

“The road has solar-powered lighting and CCTV infrastructure, and offers carbon credit advantages.

“It is more than a road; it is an economic corridor and a catalyst for regional growth.”

According to the minister, 30 kilometres of Section 1 have already been completed, with an additional 10 kilometres in Section 2 nearing delivery. Both segments feature six-lane concrete-paved carriageways, designed to meet modern standards for safety and durability.

Umahi further revealed that construction had commenced on Sections 3 and 3B of the highway, spanning a total of 65 kilometres, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom.

He described the positive response from local communities as a clear indication of the project’s wide-reaching socioeconomic benefits.

“Just days ago, we flagged off Sections 3 and 3B—65 kilometres in total, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom. The host communities’ excitement speaks to these projects’ transformative impact,” he said.

Umahi also highlighted the administration’s renewed focus on the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, which he noted was part of a broader vision dating back to colonial-era trade plans.

“The Trans-Saharan trade route dates back to colonial-era planning. President Tinubu is now bringing these long-abandoned visions to life,” the minister explained.


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Kaspersky Uncovers Dero Crypto Miner Spreading via Exposed Container Environments

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Kaspersky Security Services experts have identified a sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting containerized environments to deploy a miner for the Dero cryptocurrency.

The attackers abuse exposed Docker APIs — parts of Docker, an open-source container development platform. In 2025, there are a significant number of Docker API default ports that are insecurely published, accounting for almost 500 occurrences worldwide on average each month.

In the discovered campaign, cybercriminals inject two types of malwares into the compromised systems: one is the miner itself and the other is a propagation malware that can spread the campaign to other insecure container networks.

Kaspersky experts discovered this malicious campaign as part of a compromise assessment project. According to expert estimates, any organisation that operates containerized infrastructure — while exposing Docker APIs without robust security controls — can be a potential target. These may include technology companies, software development firms, hosting providers, cloud service providers and more enterprises.

According to Shodan, in 2025, there are 485 published Docker API default ports¹ worldwide each month on average. This figure illustrates the campaign’s potential attack surface by tallying the “entry points” — or insecurely exposed ports that attackers might target.

Once attackers identify an insecurely published Docker API, they either compromise existing containers or create new malicious ones based on a legitimate standard Ubuntu image. They then inject two malware types into the compromised containers: “nginx” and “cloud”.

The latter is a Dero cryptocurrency miner, while “nginx” is a malicious software that maintains persistence, ensures execution of the miner and scans for other exposed environments. This malware allows attackers to operate without traditional Command-and-Control (C2) servers; instead, each infected container independently scans the Internet and can spread the miner to new targets.

“The campaign has the potential for exponential growth of infections, with each compromised container acting as a new source of attack, if security measures are not immediately put in place in the potentially targeted networks,” explains Amged Wageh, an incident response and a compromise assessment expert at Kaspersky Security Services.

“Сontainers are foundational to software development, deployment, and scalability. Their widespread use across cloud-native environments, DevOps, and microservices architectures makes them an attractive target for cyber attackers. This growing reliance demands organisations adopt a 360-degree approach to security — combining robust security solutions with proactive threat hunting and regular compromise assessments”.

The attackers embedded the names “nginx” and “cloud” directly in the binary — an inflexible executable file composed of instructions and data for the processor, not for humans. This is a classic masquerading tactic that lets the payload pose as a legitimate tool, trying to deceive both analysts and automated defenses.


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