“Activist/hacktivist collective” Anonymous said Wednesday night it has hacked multiple Nigerian government websites as protests against police brutality across the country entered its seventh day.
In a tweet, the group wrote: #Nigeria: Anonymous hacks multiple government websites in solidarity with #EndSARS protestors and retribution for violence by police. #OpNigeria #EndSARSProtest.
A Pastebin document showing what appeared to be the personal details- including bank accounts and phone numbers- of police officials was released.
The group created a dedicated Twitter for its Nigerian operations on October 12, telling the government to “expect us”. In a video, a masked figure gave the Nigerian government 72 hours to stop the “brutality caused by the police and the government who have both violated the rights of the citizens”.
“This is not a threat, this is a peaceful warning from us,” the group said.
Anonymous’ claims to be a “decentralised international hactivist movement” that originated in 2003 and has conducted many digital exposes since then.
More recently, the group caused a stir on social media when it condemned the murder of George Floyd, a black man whose death at the hands of a police officer sparked months of vigorous protests in the US.
Demonstrations have taken place in cities across Nigeria in the past week. The unrest has continued despite the dissolution of a controversial police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, also known as SARS.
The protesters have vowed to remain on the streets until all their demands, including the dissolution of SWAT, a new police unit formed to replace SARS, are met.
By Rita Osakwe