The Nigerian Army has warned Nigerians to be wary of fraudsters impersonating senior military officers on social media platforms, especially Facebook.
According to a statement published on the Army’s official X account on Sunday, scammers created fake accounts in the name of the Deputy Chief of Standards and Evaluation (Army), Major General Raymond Utsaha, while using photographs belonging to the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Major General Bamidele Alabi.
The Army said the fake profiles were designed to deceive unsuspecting members of the public through fraudulent online interactions and false representations.
“The Nigerian Army wishes to categorically state that the said Facebook accounts are fake and were created with malicious intent to defraud individuals through false representations and unauthorised online engagements,” the statement said.
The military urged Nigerians to ignore any messages, friend requests, financial demands or unofficial dealings linked to the accounts.
It also stressed that senior military officers do not use personal social media accounts or unofficial online channels to award contracts, request financial assistance or conduct official business.
The Army advised the public to stay vigilant and report suspicious online activities or impersonation cases to relevant security agencies.
It added that measures were being taken to track and tackle cyber impersonation and other related fraudulent activities.