Suspected fraudsters have hacked the WhatsApp number of Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom state, one of Nigeria’s wealthiest regions, and used it to solicit funds from his contacts.
Akwa Ibom, located in southern Nigeria, boasts an annual GDP of $19 billion (£15 billion), making it the third-richest state in the country. Governor Umo Eno, who was elected last year and is also the founder of All Nations Christian Ministry International, had his WhatsApp number compromised earlier this week.
On Tuesday, many of Governor Eno’s contacts received fraudulent messages from his hacked WhatsApp account, requesting that they transfer money to a specific account, with a promise of reimbursement later.
Ekerete Udoh, the governor’s chief press secretary, confirmed in a statement that the governor’s WhatsApp number had been “cloned” by cybercriminals attempting to defraud unsuspecting individuals. Udoh reassured the public that law enforcement agencies have been notified of the incident and are investigating.
“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 emphasized.
This incident comes just weeks after a similar case in which the phone number of Osun state governor, Ademola Adeleke, was compromised in a nearly identical manner. Adeleke is the uncle of Afrobeats star Davido.
Cybersecurity experts have weighed in on the situation, advising high-profile individuals, including governors, to implement additional security measures on their communication devices. Bilal Abdullahi, a cybersecurity analyst, highlighted that WhatsApp offers security features like linking the app to an email for authorization and enabling App Lock, which requires a PIN or passcode for access.
Despite recent crackdowns by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), cyber-fraud, commonly referred to as “Yahoo-Yahoo,” remains a pervasive issue in the country. Uche Ifeanyi Henry, the director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre (NCCC), recently stated that the government has invested millions in a state-of-the-art cyber-crime center to demonstrate its commitment to combating this growing threat.
