The Nigerian Army has issued a stern warning to individuals impersonating the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, on social media, urging them to desist or face consequences.
The warning was contained in a statement released on Sunday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in Abuja.
Nwachukwu stated that the Army had received numerous complaints about an increasing number of imposters claiming to be the COAS on various social media platforms.
He noted that the fraudsters were using the official portrait of the COAS as their profile picture to mislead and scam unsuspecting individuals.
“It is imperative to state that this is not the first time imposters have attempted to impersonate the person of the COAS on social media platforms to dupe unsuspecting members of the public in one form or the other.”
Fraudulent Online Meetings and Identified Numbers
The Army spokesperson revealed a new trend where scammers fix online or virtual meetings on platforms such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and Facebook, demanding that participants share specific numbers displayed on their screens. The imposters then use these numbers to engage individually with the participants and defraud them.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Army had identified several phone numbers frequently used by the fraudsters. These include:
09033949238, 09075323836, 09074272745, 08169257155, 08064561495, 08054138812, 09161521558, 09026515718, 09020898622, 08131333263, 09077188584, 08084529752, 08147409236, 09136497898, 09024627712, 07010119398, 09138997224, 09061549129, 08163593764, 07035272009, 09018150412, 08093524443, and 08088120581.
Nwachukwu cautioned members of the general public to be wary of such imposters, emphasizing that the Army has established communication protocols known to its officers and soldiers.
“While the Nigerian Army, like other sister services of the Armed Forces, have peculiar ways of communication known to all officers and soldiers, members of the general public must be wary of the danger posed by these imposters.”
He urged the public to avoid engaging in any online meeting using the COAS official portrait as a display picture and to report fraudulent numbers through the Nigerian Army’s toll-free call center number 193 for further action.
“You are therefore urged to refrain from engaging in any online meeting organised on social media platforms especially using the official portrait of the COAS as the display picture.
“Members of the general public are enjoined to report such mobile phone numbers used to fix such online or virtual meetings through the Nigerian Army toll-free call centre number 193 for appropriate follow-up actions.”
Nwachukwu also advised both military personnel and civilians to be cautious when engaging in online or virtual meetings, warning against falling victim to scammers.
He emphasized the importance of relying on established Army protocols for communication and urged vigilance against fraudulent schemes.
