Nigerian official warns pastors and healers to stop making false Ebola-cure claims - The Washington Post

An interesting article from July concerning ebola and the lengths that the NIgerian government had to take to try and stop the scam cures of religionists

But to tackle the dangerous and potentially deadly rumor mill, a government official in Lagos state has issued a stern warning: Pastors claiming to have cured Ebola could face jail time, according to CAJ News Africa:

Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Aderemi Ibirogba, specifically advised the citizenry to be wary of the activities of alleged fraudsters who were reportedly making spurious claims about their ability to provide cure for the deadly virus.

He called on those who wanted to rip off members of the public to desist from such claims of cure or risk arrest and prosecution.

"Only medical solutions are known to be appropriate for the disease," said Ibirogba.

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For example, earlier this week, a Nigerian pastor, Ituah Ighodalo, wrote a Facebook post that highlighted a "solution to Ebola!"

The post — which was factually incorrect — was focused on the story of a Canadian-American Pentecostal pastor and faith healer by the name of John G. Lake, who operated a ministry in Africa in the early 1900s.

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In a subsequent Facebook post, Ighodalo,,, tried to walk back his previous statements.

"I am not in any way...attempting to deny the existence of the virus in Nigeria, or to encourage anyone to seek interaction with the virus, but rather to assert a superior truth that is consistent with the scriptures and stir the faith of those of us who are believers in Christ Jesus," he wrote.

While churches, healing houses and traditional healers can play a critical role by alerting public health officials to potential Ebola cases, Nigerian officials have been forced to warn them not to try healing Ebola patients themselves, according to local news reports:

Nigerian official warns pastors and healers to stop making false Ebola-cure claims - The Washington Post