Godwin Orozo, Abuja -The official Twitter account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has mysteriously disappeared from the platform, sparking speculation about the cause. The account, which had 2.2 million followers, was found to be inaccessible throughout Wednesday, displaying the message: “This account doesn’t exist.”
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed that the handle, @officialEFCC, has been down for three days, attributing the issue to a network problem. “Our ICT department is working on it. They have been on it for almost three days now,” Mr. Oyewale said on Wednesday night. “We are hoping it will come up again.”
The disappearance of the EFCC’s Twitter handle occurred just days after a group of suspected Internet fraudsters, often referred to as “Yahoo Boys,” threatened to launch a cyber attack against the agency. These threats, made on Reddit and other online forums, came in response to what the fraudsters claimed was the EFCC’s disregard for constitutional norms in its aggressive crackdown on online fraudulent activities.
Some commenters also alleged that anti-graft detectives had extorted them.In recent months, the EFCC has intensified its efforts against suspected online fraudsters, conducting raids on hotels and university dormitories in a bid to curb the growing trend, which anti-corruption advocates say has tarnished Nigeria’s image.
However, the agency has faced criticism from human rights groups for what they describe as abusive tactics that could undermine citizens’ fundamental rights.
Following a controversial midnight raid at Obafemi Awolowo University, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede announced a ban on after-dark operations, though this ban was quickly ignored, and agents resumed midnight arrests with limited oversight.
At this time, it remains unclear whether the EFCC’s Twitter account was deactivated by those running it, removed by the platform for violating its rules, or if it was indeed targeted by those who issued the cyber threats.
The EFCC’s official website and other social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram appeared to be functioning normally as of Thursday morning.
