By T. Jayani, JadeTimes News
Suspected fraudsters have hacked the WhatsApp number of Umo Eno, the governor of Nigeria’s oil rich Akwa Ibom state, using it to solicit money from his contacts. Akwa Ibom, located in southern Nigeria, is the country’s third richest state, boasting an annual gross domestic product of $19 billion (£15 billion). Governor Eno, a pastor and founder of the All Nations Christian Ministry International, assumed office last year.
On Tuesday, many of the governor's contacts received messages from his WhatsApp number, requesting that they transfer a specified amount of money to an 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 criminals attempting to defraud unsuspecting individuals. Udoh assured the public that law enforcement agencies had been alerted and warned that any messages soliciting funds in the governor's name should be disregarded.
This incident follows a similar one less than a month ago, where the phone numbers linked to Ademola Adeleke, the governor of Osun state and uncle of Afrobeats star Davido, were compromised.
Cybersecurity analyst Bilal Abdullahi emphasized the need for governors to enhance security measures on their phone numbers and WhatsApp accounts to prevent such breaches. He noted that WhatsApp offers additional security features, such as linking the app to an email for authorization and enabling an App Lock that requires a pin or passcode to access the application.
Despite intensified efforts by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including the arrest of thousands of individuals, cyber fraud commonly known as "Yahoo " remains a significant issue in the country. Uche Ifeanyi Henry, the director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre (NCCC), recently stated that the government had invested millions of pounds in a state of the art cyber crime centre, demonstrating its commitment to tackling cyber crime.
