The Twitter account of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has mysteriously disappeared from the platform, leaving its 2.2 million followers puzzled. As of Wednesday, the handle @officialEFCC displayed the message, “This account doesn’t exist.”
Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s chief spokesman, confirmed the issue, attributing it to a network problem. He said the agency’s ICT department has been working for three days to restore the account. “We are hoping it will come up again,” Oyewale told Peoples Gazette on Wednesday night.
This incident follows threats of cyber warfare from a group of suspected internet fraudsters angered by the EFCC’s aggressive crackdowns. The threats surfaced on Reddit and other forums, accusing the agency of extortion and violations of constitutional rights.
In recent months, the EFCC intensified raids against online fraud, targeting hotels and universities in a bid to clean up Nigeria’s image. However, human rights advocates have criticized the agency’s heavy-handed tactics, especially after midnight raids continued despite a ban issued by Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
It remains unclear whether the account’s disappearance was caused by cyber threats or due to a violation of X’s policies. The EFCC’s website and its other social media accounts remain unaffected as of Thursday morning.
