Akwa Ibom Governor Falls Victim as Fraudsters ‘Hack’ WhatsApp Phone Number

• Fraudsters hacked the WhatsApp number of Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno, sending fraudulent messages to his contacts asking for money
• The governor's chief press secretary, Ekerete Udoh, confirmed that the WhatsApp number was "cloned" by criminals aiming to defraud unsuspecting individuals
• The public has been urged to ignore any messages requesting funds, as law enforcement agencies have been alerted and are tracking the perpetrators

Uyo, Akwa Ibom state - Fraudsters have hacked the WhatsApp number of Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom.

On Tuesday, August 13, several of Eno's contacts received messages from his WhatsApp number asking them to transfer a specified amount of money to an account and promising reimbursement later.

Ekerete Udoh, the governor's chief press secretary, released a statement confirming that the governor's WhatsApp number had been "cloned" by criminals attempting to defraud unsuspecting individuals.

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Udoh also mentioned that law enforcement agencies have been notified about the situation, TheCable reported.

The statement said:

"Our attention has been brought to deliberately orchestrated fraudulent posts on certain social media platforms, where criminal elements have cloned the WhatsApp number of His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, with the intent to defraud unsuspecting individuals."

Members of public cautioned

As reported by BusinessDay, the Akwa Ibom state government also appealed to Nigerians to disregard messages seeking funds, saying:

It says:

"We strongly caution the general public to disregard any messages soliciting funds from these imposters, as they do not originate from the Governor.

"Law enforcement agencies have been notified and are actively pursuing the individuals responsible for this malicious act."

Osun Governor Adeleke’s phone number hacked

In a related development, Legit.ng reported that one of the telephone numbers of Osun state governor, Ademola Adeleke, has been hacked by criminal elements, prompting an urgent public alert.

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Spokesperson to the governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, who disclosed this in an official statement, urged members of the public to ignore communications (calls or messages) from the compromised number, +234 803 365 7555.

Adeleke’s spokesperson said authorities are currently investigating the breach and are working diligently to secure the governor’s communication lines.

Source: Legit.ng