Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration following the reported hacking of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) website.
In a statement released on Thursday by his Media Office, Atiku emphasized the critical role of accurate and reliable data for national development.
“The unprecedented claim that the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has been hacked is an unpleasant development that adds to the bad tidings that have characterized the President Bola Tinubu administration,” Atiku stated.
He expressed concerns about the implications of the incident, particularly in light of recent data published by the NBS on the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS). “This development underscores the credibility crisis of the current administration,” Atiku added.
“These are strange times in Nigeria, and it is hoped that the situation at hand is not an underhand attempt to undermine the integrity of data, which is essential for planning, development, and research purposes,” he warned.
The former Vice President also cautioned against the potential manipulation of statistical data for political gain, describing such actions as counterproductive.
Atiku raised suspicions about the timing of the alleged hack, noting it coincided with the release of unsettling crime statistics. “We may be tempted to assume that every statistic released by the Bureau is an outcome of a hack!” he remarked.
The NBS confirmed the website hack on Wednesday night through a post on its official X account. The bureau urged Nigerians to disregard any content on the website until it is fully restored.
“This is to inform the public that the NBS website has been hacked, and we are working to recover it. Please disregard any message or report posted until the website is fully restored. Thank you,” the statement read.
The bureau has not provided a timeline for resolving the issue. The hack occurred just weeks after the NBS website underwent an upgrade and a day after the release of the CESPS report.
The report highlighted alarming crime statistics across Nigeria, revealing that approximately 614,937 Nigerians were murdered within a year.
