The Twitter account of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has mysteriously vanished, leaving its 2.2 million followers puzzled. Since Wednesday, the handle @officialEFCC has displayed, “This account doesn’t exist.“
Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s chief spokesman, confirmed the issue but said it is a network problem that he hopes will be resolved. “We are hoping it will come up again,” Oyewale said
This incident follows cyber attack threats from suspected internet fraudsters, reportedly angry at the EFCC’s aggressive crackdowns. They have variously accused the EFCC of not carrying out any anti-corruption activity besides extorting and violating the constitutional rights of its victims by the instrumentality of its legal powers.
In recent months, the EFCC has intensified its efforts against online fraud, raiding hotels and other hideouts to search out alleged internet fraudsters. However, human rights advocates have criticized the agency’s heavy-handedness in some of its raids, sometimes in the midnight, despite a ban issued by Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
In one case, the agency apologized for the assault by its agents caught on a hidden camera during one of its raids in a hotel.
Whether the account’s disappearance is linked to these cyber threats or a violation of Twitter’s policies remains unclear. As of Thursday morning, the EFCC’s website and other social media accounts remain unaffected.
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