Fashola: Twitter account hacked

Former Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN has  drawn the attention of the public to the antics of hackers, who  have compromised his twitter account @tundefashola and posted four tweets in a language that resembled Japanese.

Here is one of the tweets:

無料 占い 婚期 魚座 告白 最適 タロット 無料 未来 子供 http://t.co/Xo7GYUqWPf #fashola

— Babatunde Fashola (@tundefashola) September 12, 2015

(In a translation by Twitter, the hackers are offering a free horoscope service)
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Hakeem Bello on Saturday, the twitter account must have been compromised on Friday, as members of the public, who follow the former Governor, started calling to draw attention to the strange tweets in the early hours of Saturday.

It would be recalled that Governor Fashola also recently dissociated himself from a Facebook scam, whereby some unscrupulous persons use his photographs and ascribe fictitious statements to him on cloned Facebook accounts aimed at defrauding innocent people.

The call became necessary for the umpteenth time, the statement said then, in view of the activities of scammers who have been issuing out series of Facebook comments and information in his name with the intention of duping unsuspecting members of the public.

A statement by  Fashola’s Special  Adviser on Media,  Bello,  said the conmen have, through Facebook, been urging unsuspecting people to apply for some  government facilities or utilities meant to benefit the public but to which some agencies of government have been given the responsibility to manage.

One of such information titled, “Disbursement of Subsidy Dividend (SURE-P)” purported to have been issued by the former Governor is informing “Citizens that Subsidy proceed is available for Agro and commercial business”, and asking them to “Apply for soft loan with no collateral, zero percent interest rate and flexible terms”.

While advising members of the public to always clarify with the appropriate agencies of government at all levels before engaging in any dealings with people purportedly working for them, the statement urged people to report to the law enforcement agencies so that those involved in the nefarious acts can be made to  face the wrath of the law.

Fashola’s last tweet on the account was on 2 May, after the death of the wife of former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand.

No words will be enough to console Rio. Nevertheless Lagos sends condolences to the Ferdinand household. We care.

— Babatunde Fashola (@tundefashola) May 2, 2015