Nigeria’s disaster management body, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has issued an urgent warning to the public following an unauthorized breach of its official website by suspected cybercriminals.
The agency announced the cyberattack on Friday via a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, signed by NEMA management.
According to the statement, “The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has been alerted to an unauthorized breach of its official website by suspected hackers.”
Officials confirmed that defensive protocols have been activated to address the situation.
“The Agency is currently taking necessary technical measures to rectify the breach, secure the platform, and restore normal operations,” the statement added.
In light of the security breach, NEMA has strongly cautioned citizens against interacting with any unusual activity or monetary demands hosted on the hijacked platform.
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“In the meantime, the general public is strongly advised to disregard any suspicious content, misleading information, unauthorized announcements, or fraudulent solicitations for money that may appear on the compromised website or be circulated through related channels,” the statement read.
While NEMA expressed regret over the inconvenience caused by the cyber incident, it assured citizens that active measures are underway to resolve the vulnerability quickly and fortify the security of its digital platforms.
However, the agency did not disclose specific details about the nature of the breach or state whether sensitive government data had been compromised.
The cyberattack underscores a growing pattern of cybersecurity vulnerabilities targeting government institutions across Nigeria.
Reports indicate this is not an isolated incident for the agency; on May 3, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism revealed that NEMA had failed to resolve a previous hijacking of several webpages, where unauthorized users published content promoting sports betting games and anti-aging products.
Independent checks conducted on Friday night confirmed the severity of the current breach.
Users attempting to access the agency’s official homepage were automatically redirected to external, unauthorized promotional links. Among these redirections were prominent real-money sports betting platforms, including Stake and 1XBet.
