Hackers Hijack Nigerian Military’s X Account, Push Crypto Scam

The official X account of Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, @DHQNigeria, was compromised on Saturday, and the hackers used the account to publish cryptocurrency scam posts to its nearly one million followers.

The account, with about 982,900 followers, was used to promote Firelight FXRP rewards and direct users to a cryptocurrency claims portal.

The Defence Headquarters confirmed the breach in a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba.

It, however, said measures are being taken to secure the account and prevent further unauthorised activity.

Uba warned the public to disregard “suspicious, unauthorised or misleading content” published from the account while efforts to restore full control continued.

The DHQ also said the incident was being treated as a cybersecurity matter and advised Nigerians to rely on its verified accounts on other platforms for official information while recovery efforts were ongoing.

Screenshots reviewed by THE WHISTLER show that the last military-related post on the account was on August 7.

The account, which was created in May 2013, has been used by the Defence Headquarters for official communication.

The Defence Headquarters did not disclose how the account was compromised or who was responsible.