Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has disclosed that its official X account was subjected to an attempted unauthorised compromise on Saturday, August 15, 2026. The warning was issued by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba. DHQ said the incident is being treated as a cybersecurity matter and that technical measures have been activated while efforts continue to fully restore control of the account.
Why it matters: this is more than a routine social-media hack. The Defence Headquarters account is an official national-security communications channel. A successful compromise could be used to circulate false operational updates, fabricated security alerts, misinformation about military movements, or politically sensitive content. DHQ has therefore instructed the public and media to disregard suspicious or unauthorised posts from the affected account and to rely on its other verified channels in the interim.
Earliest credible source identified in this cycle: the official Defence Headquarters statement issued by Major General Samaila Uba. Punch published the warning at 9:47 p.m. WAT on August 15, while the same statement was also carried through DHQ’s other official communication channels.
Confirmed: DHQ detected an attempted compromise; cybersecurity containment measures were activated; full control of the X account had not yet been confirmed restored at the time of the statement; and the public was advised to use DHQ’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp channels for verified information.
Unconfirmed: who carried out the intrusion, whether the attacker obtained administrative access, whether any malicious posts or private data were exposed, and whether the incident is connected to a wider cyber campaign against Nigerian government institutions. No attribution should be made at this stage.
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