African news : breaking news, features, analysis

The official website of the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been hacked.

A visit to the site’s homepage shows a picture of the Nigerian flag with a thumbprint in the middle and several messages underneath including , “Sorry ‘xD Your Site has been STAMPED by TeaM Nigerian Cyber Army…FEEL SOME SHAME ADMIN!!.”

Another message from the hackers, who refer to themselves as Team Nigerian Cyber Army, indicated that they had access to other “top ranking Nigerian government servers” but had only targeted the Electoral Commission’s website today.

They also warned INEC against any attempts to rig the elections as they were being “watched day and night.”

INEC acknowledged the attack on its website and stated in a tweet that the matter was being investigated. 

Nigerians are currently voting in poll stations all over the country which were delayed by the late arrival of electoral materials at some polling stations across the country.

The elections are being contested by fourteen candidates, however, there it is widely accepted that the contest is essentially between President Goodluck Jonathan or  former army chief General Muhammadu Buhari.

Analysts say that these elections will be the closest since Nigeria returned to democratic rule. 

Credit: Citifmonline.com