‘at 2am, It Feels Like Someone’s There’: Why Nigerians Are Choosing Chatbots To Give Them Advice And Therapy

On a quiet evening successful her Abuja hotel, Joy Adeboye, 23, sits connected her furniture clutching her phone, her mind racing and thorax tightening. On her surface is yet different abusive connection from her stalker – a man she had met 9 months earlier astatine her church.

He had asked Adeboye out; erstwhile she declined, he began sending her intimidating, insulting and blackmailing messages connected societal media, arsenic good arsenic spreading mendacious accusation astir her online. There were moreover decease threats.

The acquisition is taking its toll connected her intelligence health, leaving her struggling to cope. Family and friends she confided successful did not return it seriously, and she cannot spend in-person therapy aliases counselling. As nan emotion of panic roseate astatine nan show of his words, she turns to an alternative: a WhatsApp chatbot called Chat Kemi.

“Good evening, Resilient Joy,” nan bot types. “How are you today?”
Adeboye hesitates, past starts typing: “Someone is defaming maine online and threatening to termination me, because I refused to day him. I americium depressed and confused. What should I do?”

The chatbot, which Adeboye had heard astir astatine an arena connected gender-based unit tally by an NGO, advises her to deactivate her societal media accounts and supply each basal accusation astir nan personification making nan threats to personification she trusts.

For nan first clip successful months, Adeboye says, she felt little alone.

AI platforms offering first-line intelligence wellness support person proliferated complete nan past year, pinch early trials successful nan US showing mixed results. In Nigeria, wherever AI has been embraced successful galore sectors and industries, a increasing number of group move to chatbots for virtual therapy.

Nigeria’s wellness system, including its intelligence wellness provision, has agelong been underfunded. Between 2015 and 2025, Nigeria has consistently spent little than 5% of its fund to healthcare, pinch 4.2% allocated for 2026, acold little than nan 15% target that African Union personnel states agreed to arsenic portion of nan 2001 Abuja Declaration. It is not known really galore group successful Nigeria unrecorded pinch intelligence wellness conditions but, pinch only 262 psychiatrists successful a state of 240 cardinal people, astir do not get capable treatment.

The shortages person been exacerbated by nan Trump management dismantling USAID, which has badly deed services successful Nigeria, particularly astatine nan superior level, having a devastating effect connected patients successful communities already struggling pinch HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and different wellness challenges. More than 90% of Nigerians person nary wellness insurance, and now look uncertainty complete entree to services and feelings of helplessness complete rising costs.

Private healthcare is expensive; 1 therapy convention tin costs betwixt 50,000 naira (£27) – nan balanced of a week’s worthy of groceries. Cultural stigma remains strong; galore Nigerians still subordinate intelligence unwellness pinch belief weakness aliases witchcraft.

Commercial and nonprofit AI initiatives are starting to capable this vacuum. HerSafeSpace is an organisation that offers free and instant ineligible and affectional assistance to victims of technology-facilitated gender-based unit successful 5 westbound and cardinal African countries. Its Chat Kemi work is disposable successful section and world languages.

Youth advocates and organization leaders astatine a shop connected gender-based unit led by nan nonprofit group HerSafeSpace, which besides offers a free chatbot service. Photograph: HerSafeSpace

“These services don’t switch therapy,” says its founder, Abideen Olasupo. Instead, nan chatbot uses a referral strategy to nonstop users and circumstantial cases to intelligence health, ineligible aliases psychosocial professionals aliases organisations, should nan request arise.

“Our awesome nonsubjective is to support young girls, who are peculiarly susceptible to gender-based violence, particularly online,” he says.

Other platforms successful Nigeria offering akin services see FriendnPal, whose AI chatbot provides affectional support, matches patients pinch licensed therapists and includes temper tracking, psycho-education and ASMR tools to alleviate accent and anxiety.

Its pay-as-you-go exemplary gives users instant entree to tailored therapy sessions that tin see homework aliases assessments, according to Esther Eruchie, who created nan work successful consequence to nan nonaccomplishment of her mother aft years of slump caused by her 20-year-old brother’s death.

Another platform, Blueroomcare, connects clients pinch licensed therapists done video, voice, matter and in-app messaging. It offers in-person outpatient and virtual attraction astatine partner clinics nationwide, includes a free wellness assessment, and charges betwixt 5,000 and 51,000 naira for a therapist subscription plan.

“Therapy was often excessively expensive, and location weren’t capable professionals to meet nan demand,” says Moses Aiyenuro, who founded Blueroomcare aft his ain struggles pinch depression. “I wanted to build a level that lowers nan barriers to care.”

The exertion utilized by these apps follows scripts written by licensed Nigerian psychologists and therapists who present attraction to users.

In Lagos, Oluwakemi Oluwakayode, a mother of four, started utilizing FriendnPal’s chatbot aft watching her eight-year-old girl strengthen predominant seizures owed to cerebral palsy.

“Sometimes, it gave very modular replies,” she admits. “But I could yet opportunity things I couldn’t stock pinch my family. That unsocial gave maine relief.”

Later, nan app connected her pinch a licensed therapist – thing she says she would ne'er person considered without AI easing her into it.

Dr Joy Aifuobhokhan, a Lagos-based nationalist wellness doctor, says these platforms’ advantage is that they are much affordable and businesslike than accepted therapy. “Digital platforms prevention clip different spent preparing, commuting and waiting [to beryllium seen] astatine beingness consultation centres,” she says.

But immoderate experts be aware that AI cannot supply nan aforesaid level of expertise arsenic a qualified therapist. “These platforms get from objective methods for illustration CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] and mindfulness,” says Dr Nihinlola Olowe, a scientist astatine Live Still Counselling Services, a Nigerian-based intelligence wellness practice.

“They tin beryllium useful for coping, but they cannot switch nan extent aliases judgement of master care.”

Blueroomcare’s therapy app intends to ‘lower nan barriers to care’ by offering easy, affordable and backstage entree to master counselling. Photograph: Blueroomcare/X

Eruchie says FriendnPal has tally much than 10,000 sessions successful nan past year, while Olasupo says HerSafeSpace has 1,600 users crossed 3 continents. Blueroomcare declined to opportunity really galore users it had.

But measuring nan effect based connected numbers unsocial is simply a challenge. “The existent communicative lies successful nan engagement,” says Olasupo. “It’s breathtaking to spot that users aren’t conscionable utilizing nan app and leaving – they’re coming backmost again and again.”

For galore patients, nan immediacy and anonymity of a chatbot is cardinal to its entreaty but nan easiness of integer attraction could travel astatine nan costs of privacy. Avril Eyewu-Edero, a cybersecurity expert, believes that without introducing beardown database protections successful Nigeria, delicate accusation – specified arsenic aesculapian histories – becomes susceptible nan infinitesimal it enters an AI system.

“If startups neglect to prioritise privateness and encryption from nan outset, take will stall. Nigerians are eager but wary,” she says.

Founders of nan services admit these uncertainties, often highlighting their usage of end-to-end encryption, unsocial codes that place users aliases devices without including personally identifiable information, and strict non-sharing policies – moreover pinch authorities authorities, unless compelled by a tribunal order.

Now, aesculapian professionals are calling connected nan Nigerian authorities to create enforceable nationalist standards for AI. Dr Alero Roberts, a nationalist wellness advisor and teacher astatine nan University of Lagos’s aesculapian college, says: “AI chatbots for intelligence wellness are an innovative solution, but without robust regulation, we are venturing blindly into perchance vulnerable territory.

“Robots can’t construe quality emotion arsenic humans do. For group successful crisis, for illustration suicidal thoughts aliases psychosis, quality interaction is crucial. Someone, moreover a non-professional, tin recognise nan request for urgent intervention,” she says. “This is often mislaid pinch AI; beardown governance is essential.”

Unlike medicines aliases hospitals, AI intelligence wellness platforms run successful a regulatory grey zone. Nigeria’s 2023 Data Protection Act sets baseline privateness standards but lacks circumstantial AI regulations for healthcare.

“The main rumor is enforcement, not a deficiency of laws,” says Ayotunde Abiodun of SBM Intelligence, a thinktank that provides study connected political, economical and societal issues successful Nigeria and crossed westbound Africa.

Babatunde Bamigboye, caput of regulations astatine nan Nigeria Data Protection Commission, a statutory assemblage group up nether nan 2023 law, says: “Any usage involving individual information must comply pinch nan act. The model focuses connected information ethics, testing wrong sandboxes, and consequence mitigation. AI successful Nigeria is governed, but not via AI-specific laws.”

In Lagos, Oluwakayode continues to usage FriendnPal. One day, she hopes to spend in-person therapy, but for now, nan bot is her companion.

“I cognize it’s not a existent human,” she says. “But astatine 2am, it feels for illustration personification is location for me. And that’s capable to support maine going.”