Suspected fraudsters have compromised the WhatsApp account of Umo Eno, the governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Akwa Ibom state, and attempted to defraud his contacts by soliciting money.
Akwa Ibom, located in southern Nigeria, ranks as the country’s third-richest state with an annual GDP of $19 billion (£15 billion). Governor Eno, who is also the founder of the All Nations Christian Ministry International, was elected to office last year.
On Tuesday, many of the governor’s contacts received fraudulent messages from his WhatsApp account, requesting a specified amount of money to be transferred to an account with a promise of reimbursement later.
The governor’s chief press secretary, Ekerete Udoh, confirmed in a statement that the governor’s WhatsApp number had been “cloned” by criminals intending to defraud unsuspecting individuals.
Law enforcement agencies have been notified of the breach. “We hereby warn that any message appearing to solicit funds by these imposters should be completely disregarded by the public as they do not originate from the Governor,” the statement cautioned.
This incident follows a similar breach less than a month ago, where the phone number of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is the uncle of Afrobeats star Davido, was also compromised.
Cybersecurity expert Bilal Abdullahi urged public officials to enhance the security of their WhatsApp accounts to prevent such incidents. “WhatsApp offers additional security layers, such as linking the app to an email for authorization and using App Lock, which requires a pin or passcode to access the application,” Abdullahi explained.
Despite ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime, including the arrest of thousands by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), cyber-fraud—locally known as “Yahoo-Yahoo”—remains a significant challenge in Nigeria. Uche Ifeanyi Henry, director of Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre (NCCC), recently told the BBC that the government had invested millions in a state-of-the-art cybercrime center, demonstrating its commitment to tackling the issue.
