FRESH AIDS CURE CLAIM DRAMA IN NIGERIA

For Isaiah Ibeh, university professor and AIDS cure claimant, fame came like a flash. His day in the sun wasn’t even up to 24 hours.
Prof Ibeh who is the Dean of the faculty of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Benin, Nigeria had told the News Agency of Nigeria in an interview that he had found ‘a possible cure for HIV/AIDS’ using a herbal remedies.
Prof. Ibeh disclosed that the herbal drug had undergone series of successful tests including human tests conducted on five people ‘three of them were siro negative while two were still faintly positive.’
According to him, ‘We are at the threshold of making history, in the sense that we seem to have with us something that will permanently take care of what, over time, seemed to have defied all solutions.’
“The existing retroviral drugs are intervention drugs for the management of AIDS but our new discovery is a possible cure’ Ibeh added. The NAN intervies was copiously used online and in the newspapers the following day.
Reactions came fast and in torrents. Nigeria’s Minister of State for health, Dr Ali Pate was quick to deride the so called AIDS cure . ‘I am not aware of the evidence behind this latest claim,’ the minister added.
John Idoko who heads the National Agency for the Control of AIDS called for caution to avoid the situation in the past where Nigeria was brought to international ridicule. He was referring to the failed AIDS cure claim by an Abuja based medical doctor, Jeremiah Abalaka a decade ago.
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control warned the public not to patronize Prof Ibeh’s AIDS remedy as the efficacy and safety were yet to be established.
The university of Benin authorities also came out to denounce the claim of Prof. Ibeh stating that his claims have not been subjected to any clinical examination and so cannot be said to have any evidence of curing HIV/AIDS. Ibeh’s direct boss and Provost, College of Medical Sciences of the University, Prof. Vincent Iyawe, said the institution was not in agreement with Prof. Ibeh’s claim because the University was, “not carried along” in the research. He said this in Ibeh’s presence.
The researcher has since apologized for breaching protocols. ‘The true position is that some observations of our Research are preliminary and the research is still ongoing. I am very sorry for the embarrassment this has caused the University of Benin and Professional Colleagues, realizing that there are procedures of reporting such Scientific result,’ he said.