Hacktivists, a group, known for hacking repressive governments’ websites has rendered the official website of the Nigeria Police Force inaccessible after the group compromised its database Thursday.
Checks revealed that the domain of the Police website has been suspended.
“this Account has been suspended,” when checked on Thursday.
Google checks describes Hacktivists as groups of criminals who unite to carry out cyber attacks in support of political causes.
Hacktivists typically target entire industries but sometimes attack specific organizations who they feel don’t align with their political views or practices.
The group earlier announced its decision to attack federal government agencies’ websites in solidarity with the protesters clamouring for the reformation of the police and a total disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) or any other look-alike.
The group of “hacktivists” has no face, and no leadership. Its motto is simply “we are anonymous.”
The group had carried out similar coordinated attacks in the United States, Israel, Tunisia, Uganda and other countries.
In the past few days, many Nigerians have shared their horrendous experiences in the hands of operatives of the police unit ranging from extra-judicial killing to extortion.
Several protests have also been staged across major cities in the country while social media has gone wild with protesters trending the #EndSARS hashtag.
Although the unit was disbanded on Sunday and replaced with the new Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) on Tuesday, Nigerians have refused to stop the protests.
“#SARS special police force unit in Nigeria kills innocents. Today 20 more people lost their lives including anons. #Nigeria gov oppression and killings should stop.
#AnonDown,” the group announced to its over five million followers on Twitter.
#Nigeria: Anonymous hacks multiple government websites in solidarity with #EndSARS protestors and retribution for violence by police. #OpNigeria #EndSARSProtest
Before the announcement, the group of hackers lent its voice to the #EndSARS protest with a couple of tweets.
Meanwhile, after it hacked into the police website, the group released documents containing names, addresses, contacts and account details of hundreds of police officers on a text storage website, pastebin.com.