What Happened to EFCC's Official Twitter Account? Details Emerge

• The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)'s official X (formerly Twitter) account, with 2.2 million followers, disappeared from the platform
• EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale clarified that the three-day outage was due to technical updates
• The disappearance of the EFCC's X handle followed threats from suspected fraudsters on Reddit and other forums

The X (formerly Twitter) account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has disappeared from the popular social media platform.

On Wednesday, August 14, the agency's official handle, which had 2.2 million followers, was no longer accessible.

Checks by Legit.ng revealed that when the handle is now with the message "This account doesn’t exist" appears instead.

EFCC denies Twitter account hack

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has denied claims that its Twitter account was hacked.

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According to Sahara Reporters, the EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale clarified that the recent downtime was due to routine maintenance and upgrades to the agency's social media platform, rather than any security breach.

Oyewale said:

"The official Twitter account has been unavailable for three days straight, sparking speculation that it may have been compromised by a group of suspected cybercriminals."

Suspected fraudsters threaten cyber attack against EFCC

The disappearance of the EFCC’s X (formerly Twitter) handle occurred just days after a group of suspected internet fraudsters threatened to launch a cyber attack against the anti-corruption agency.

The threats, which emerged on Reddit and other online forums over the weekend, were reportedly in response to the EFCC's aggressive crackdown on online fraud, Peoples Gazette reported.

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Some individuals claimed that anti-graft officers had extorted them during these operations.

In recent months, the EFCC has intensified its efforts against internet fraudsters, conducting raids at hotels and university hostels in a bid to curb the rising trend.

Anti-corruption campaigners have supported these efforts, saying that online fraud tarnishes Nigeria's image and undermines the hardworking citizens of the country.

However, checks by Legit.ng on Thursday afternoon revealed that the EFCC's main website and other social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram remained unaffected.

EFCC detains Hajj Commission Chairman, recovers N131 million

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Jalal Arabi, the executive chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

On Thursday morning, August 15, Abdullahi Kontagora, NAHCON’s secretary, was also held by personnel of the anti-graft agency.

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Source: Legit.ng