The WhatsApp account of Umo Eno, governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Akwa Ibom state, has been hacked by suspected fraudsters who are using it to solicit money from his contacts. Akwa Ibom, located in southern Nigeria, is the country’s third-richest state with an annual gross domestic product of $19 billion (£15 billion).
Governor Eno, a pastor who founded the All Nations Christian Ministry International and was elected last year, had his phone contacts receive messages on Tuesday requesting specific amounts of money to be transferred to an account, with promises of later reimbursement.
Ekerete Udoh, the governor’s chief press secretary, confirmed in a statement that the governor’s WhatsApp number was “cloned” by criminals attempting to defraud unsuspecting individuals. Law enforcement agencies have been notified of the incident.
“We hereby warn that any message appearing to solicit funds by these imposters should be totally discountenanced by the general public as they do not emanate from the Governor,” the statement read.
This incident follows a similar case less than a month ago involving Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state, uncle of Afrobeats star Davido, whose phone numbers were also compromised.
Cybersecurity analyst Bilal Abdullahi advised governors to implement additional security measures for their phone numbers and WhatsApp accounts, such as email authorization and app locks.
Despite recent efforts to combat cyber-fraud, including thousands of arrests by the financial crimes agency EFCC, it remains a significant issue in Nigeria. Uche Ifeanyi Henry, director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre (NCCC), recently told the BBC that the government has invested heavily in a state-of-the-art cyber-crime centre to address this problem.
The incident highlights the ongoing challenges of cybersecurity in Nigeria, particularly for high-profile individuals, and the need for increased vigilance and security measures.
