By The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has distanced itself from claims linking the agency to efforts to recover funds allegedly lost on an online marketing and earning platform known as CPM, warning Nigerians not to make additional payments to individuals or groups making such representations.
According to a public advisory issued by the agency on Monday, May 25, 2026 and signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations Department, the agency said it had received reports from subscribers of the platform who were allegedly informed by its operators that the system had been hacked and that users would need to make further payments to facilitate the recovery of their funds.
According to the agency, the platform operators reportedly told subscribers that NITDA was assisting in resolving the issue and that additional contributions were required to support the recovery process.
Reacting to the development, NITDA categorically denied any involvement in the matter.
“These claims are false and misleading,” the agency stated.
NITDA stressed that it neither requests nor collects money from members of the public for incident response services, fund recovery efforts, or the resolution of cybersecurity incidents involving private organisations.
“As a government agency and Nigeria’s Information Technology regulator, NITDA does not request or collect money from citizens to provide incident response support, recover funds, or assist private entities in resolving cybersecurity incidents,” the agency said.
The agency warned that the pattern described in the reports bears the hallmarks of social engineering and fraudulent activity designed to exploit victims under the pretext of addressing a cybersecurity breach or helping investors recover lost funds.
”The reported pattern may indicate possible social engineering or fraudulent activity aimed at exploiting affected individuals under the guise of resolving a cybersecurity incident or recovering lost investments” the advisory added.
NITDA therefore urged Nigerians to remain vigilant when engaging with online investment and trading platforms and to resist pressure to send additional money in attempts to recover previous investments or losses.
The agency also advised members of the public to independently verify any claims of government involvement through official channels, avoid disclosing sensitive financial or personal information to unverified entities, and promptly report suspicious cyber-related activities to relevant authorities.
Reaffirming its commitment to cybersecurity awareness and consumer protection, NITDA said it would continue working to safeguard Nigerians against cyber-enabled fraud and other deceptive online practices.
