SUSPECTED cybercriminals have compromised the WhatsApp number of Umo Eno, the Governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Akwa Ibom state, using the platform to solicit money from his contacts. The incident occurred on Tuesday, with the fraudsters sending messages from the governor’s number, requesting that recipients transfer funds to a specified account, with promises of reimbursement, the BBC reported.
Akwa Ibom, located in southern Nigeria, ranks as the third-richest state in the country, boasting an annual gross domestic product of $19bn. Governor Umo Eno, a pastor and founder of the All Nations Christian Ministry International, assumed office last year.
The governor’s chief press secretary, Ekerete Udoh, issued a statement confirming the hacking incident, revealing that the governor’s WhatsApp number had been ‘cloned’ by criminals in an attempt to defraud unsuspecting individuals. He assured the public that law enforcement agencies had been alerted to the situation.
‘We hereby warn that any message appearing to solicit funds by these imposters should be totally ignored by the general public, as they do not emanate from the Governor,’ the statement emphasised.
This incident mirrors a similar occurrence less than a month ago, where the phone number of Ademola Adeleke, the Governor of Osun state and uncle to Afrobeats star Davido, was compromised in a comparable scheme.
Cybersecurity expert Bilal Abdullahi advised that governors and other public officials should enhance the security of their communication channels, including their WhatsApp accounts, to prevent such breaches. ‘WhatsApp provides additional security features, such as linking the app to an email for authorisation before use and implementing an App Lock, which requires a pin or passcode for access,’ Abdullahi explained in an interview with the BBC.
Despite ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime in Nigeria, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) arrest of thousands of suspects, online fraud—locally known as ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’—remains a pervasive issue in the country.
The director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre (NCCC), Uche Ifeanyi Henry, recently said the government had invested millions of dolllars in a state-of-the-art cybercrime centre to demonstrate its commitment to tackling the problem.
