The official website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), www.nigerianstat.gov.ng, has been offline for three weeks following a confirmed hacking incident. Checks conducted by TheCable on Monday revealed that the website remains unreachable, with users unable to access its landing page.
The hacking incident was first confirmed by the NBS on December 18, 2024, in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter). In the post, the bureau warned the public to disregard any reports published on the website until it is fully restored. Despite the seriousness of the breach, efforts to contact Ichedi Sunday, the bureau’s head of communications, for further comments have been unsuccessful.
The hack occurred a day after the NBS released its Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey, which revealed shocking statistics about crime in Nigeria. According to the report, Nigerian households paid a staggering N2.23 trillion in ransom payments between May 2023 and April 2024, with an estimated 51.89 million crime incidents recorded nationwide during the same period.
The report highlighted that the north-west region experienced the highest number of crimes, with over 14 million incidents, while the south-east had the lowest, with over six million cases. Rural areas accounted for a slightly higher number of crimes (26.5 million incidents) compared to urban areas (25.4 million incidents).
The report’s publication drew significant attention and reportedly led to the Department of State Services (DSS) summoning Adeniran Adeyemi, the statistician-general of the federation, for questioning. However, the NBS promptly denied reports of any such invitation or arrest.
Since confirming the hack, the NBS has not provided any updates regarding the restoration of its website or its efforts to address the security breach. The prolonged inaccessibility of the platform raises concerns about the bureau’s ability to safeguard its digital assets and maintain public trust in its operations.
Observers are urging the NBS to enhance its cybersecurity measures and offer transparency regarding its recovery efforts, especially given the sensitivity of the data it manages. Meanwhile, stakeholders await further updates from the bureau on the restoration of its online services.
