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MTN Foundation Calls for Collaborative Fight Against Substance Abuse, Unveils ASAP 2022 ActivitiesMTN Foundation Calls for Collaborative Fight Against Substance Abuse, Unveils ASAP 2022 Activities

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It’s no news that substance abuse is a major public health, social and individual problem and is seen as an aggravating factor for economic crises. A 2019 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that 35 million people suffer from drug disorders globally and opioids such as codeine, morphine and many others are responsible for the death of two-thirds of the 585,000 people who died from substance abuse.

In Nigeria today, drug abuse has become a worrisome trend amongst the Nigerian youth. According to Atinuke Aduloju, Chief Superintendent of narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), she stated that over 40% of Nigerian youth within ages, 18-35 abuse drugs. This is not just a threat to public health in Nigeria but to the future of young Nigerians, as there is still a rapid increase in the number of youths addicted to drugs.

The effects of substance abuse are limitless and can affect the quality of life of those who fall victim. The youth constitute a large percentage of the labour market in Nigeria, and addiction to drugs affects workplace productivity, which is detrimental to the nation’s economy. Students involved in substance abuse are not left out as academic performance, relationships with fellow students, and the society at large are negatively affected.

In 2018, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released a documentary on substance abuse in Nigeria and the development of addiction. In response, the Nigerian government prohibited the importation and production of codeine-containing cough syrup to reduce the availability of codeine, especially from pharmacies. Policies and taxes such as the sin tax have been developed to increase the cost of tobacco and alcohol to reduce purchase and consumption.

To curb this menace among youths in the society, different programmes, campaigns and initiatives have been established to raise awareness against substance abuse amongst the Nigerian youths. One of such initiatives is the Anti Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) by the MTN Foundation.

MTN Foundation launched the ASAP initiative in 2019 as a multi-sectoral platform to increase awareness of the negative impact of substance abuse and addiction amongst young Nigerians. The goal of this scheme is to discourage first-time and causal use of addictive drugs amongst the youth. Since its inception, influential Nigerians such as singer, Joseph Akinfenwa popularly known as Joeboy, Neuro-psychiatrist and mental health advocate, Maymunah Kadiri and the Lagos State Commissioner, Ministry of Health Dr Jide Idris have lent their voice and shown commitment to working with stakeholders to drive this good cause.

This year, in partnership with the UNODC, the Ministry of Education and the NDLEA, the MTN Foundation is commencing another campaign to drive this purposeful cause. The campaign will include a variety of activities including the Unplugged =Training, Volunteer Training, Quiz Competition, an Advocacy Walk and a National Conference

The Unplugged Training is an evidence-based program in partnership with UNODC and the Ministry of Education to educate and enlighten secondary school teachers in 30 Nigerian schools about substance abuse and the application of knowledge gained to positively impact the students. The volunteer training on the other hand is aimed at educating select individuals on how to counsel victims of substance abuse and help them overcome addiction. As much as the ASAP initiative is to discourage first-time drug abuse, there is also an urgent need to help those already dealing with substance abuse.

The advocacy walk is designed to raise awareness of the dangers of substance abuse on young Nigerians and its effects on society. The advocacy walk would also be an opportunity to inform the general public of the national conference and other activities taking place as a result of the ASAP initiative.

To enlighten young Nigerians about substance abuse and its consequences, the MTN Foundation in coalition with NDLEA is organizing a quiz competition on substance abuse for youth in secondary schools. The winners of the quiz competition will be announced on the 26th of June 2022 during the national conference.

The national conference which will hold on 26 June 2022 is to officially commemorate World Drug Day and have important conversations about the role and responsibilities of people and organizations in the fight against substance abuse.

The ASAP campaign is a strategic endeavor by the MTN Foundation to impact and make a significant change in the lives of many young Nigerians. In partnership with public and private organizations, all the activities lined up for the 2022 ASAP campaign will enlighten more people and help every Nigerian understand they have a part to play in the fight against substance abuse and addiction


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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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