On Tuesday, several contacts received suspicious messages from the governor’s WhatsApp number, requesting financial assistance and promising reimbursement.
However, Ekerete Udoh, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, issued a statement clarifying that the governor’s WhatsApp number had been cloned by criminal elements with the intention of defrauding unsuspecting individuals.
Udoh confirmed that law enforcement agencies have been notified and are investigating the incident.
The public is advised to be cautious and not respond to any fraudulent requests.
“Our attention has been drawn to carefully orchestrated fraudulent posts on some social media platforms, where some criminal elements have cloned the WhatsApp number of His Excellency, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, with an intent to defraud unsuspecting members of the public,” the statement reads.
“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 law enforcement agents have been duly alerted and are on the trail of the perpetrators of this ignoble act.”
In July, one of the phone numbers of Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, was hacked.