DISCOVERED: Three Official Websites of Oyo State Government Hijacked
This office is crucial to financial transparency of Oyo State Government as well as OYSAA and Ministry of Justice office.
Three important websites of Oyo State Government, namely: Auditor-General website, with the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) known as “https://auditgeneralstate.oyostate.gov.ng/,” Ministry of Justice website with the URL: https://justice.oyostate.gov.ng and Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA) with the URL: https://oysaa.oyostate.gov.ng have been hijacked, PIJAlance independently found.
Auditor-General’s office in Oyo State is an important independent body statutorily required to audit the state account.
Aligning with the state’s Public Finance Management Law and the Oyo State Audit Law, the office is also constitutionally recognised in Section 125 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), with responsibilities spanning: independent audit and report on the state’s accounts and financial operations; submission of annual reports to the Oyo State House of Assembly, highlighting whether public funds have been applied in line with appropriations and laws; safeguarding public resources by exposing inefficiencies, misappropriation, or waste.
Read Also: Three Years On, Oyo State Still Hides How Contracts Are Awarded
This office is crucial to financial transparency of Oyo State Government as well as OYSAA, a government-backed advertisement agency and the State’s Ministry of Justice office.
However, checks found that these official websites which often contain significant information have been hacked and are currently being run by a third party named: Zona66.
The three websites which are now suspended by their hosts, were formerly displaying explicit gaming contents.
While the source of the problem is currently unknown, some of Oyo State Government-backed websites have become inaccessible for months.
On Wednesday, our news agency published how Oyo State Open Contracting Portal, containing key procurement details of the state, has become inaccessible for three consecutive years.
Read Also: Three Kidnapped Victims Released in Oyo State After Family Pays N3m Ransom, Authorities Mum
Research and Investigations Desk (RID)
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