The
search for the “true” identity of one Chima Okoro, who predicted the
attack on Abuja, the nation’s capital city, has begun online.
Tweeting via @chimaokoro63, Okoro, whose identity has yet to be unveiled, had predicted the bombings on Tweeter. The unknown tweeter added that Lagos would be bombed.
Twenty persons reportedly lost their
lives while 41 others sustained serious injuries in the twin attacks
that hit Nyanya and Kuje, on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, on
Friday.
The account was taken down when Internet
users raised the alarm over the prediction. Yet, controversy over his
tweet has continued.
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As of Sunday afternoon, a twist emerged in the controversy. A tweeter, posting on @AbdulMahmud1,
claimed that he had unveiled the said Okoro on the Facebook. The
Oracle, the profile name on the Twitter page, posted an MTN number,
which he claimed was on Okoro’s Facebook page.
According to Abdul Mahmud, Truecaller reveals that the telephone number belongs to one Sadiq Hono.
Our correspondent got the same result
when the telephone number was run on Truecaller. However, the true
source of the phone number could not be confirmed.
Abdul Mahmud tweeted on Sunday, “@Chimaokoro63 appears
to have left a clue to his “real” identity. His Facebook account has a
mobile telephone number that is revealing. A few minutes after I ran the
check, Truecaller sent me an email, with the content, ‘Hi, someone used
Truecaller to search your name and phone number.’
“Could it have been coincidental that
someone I ran check on also ran a check on me? It is getting mysterious
and sinister. Our security and intelligence agencies have their works
cut out. When terrorists make mistakes, they get burst.”
On Twitter, Abdul Mahmud describes
himself as a lawyer and the President of the Public Interest Lawyers
League. He is also a poet and columnist if his Twitter profile is
anything to believe.
On Facebook, one Tony Osborg, also said
he was following Okoro’s Internet traces. He, however, said the
telephone number was added to the Facebook page said to belong to Okoro
after the bombing.
“Can someone else run this number on
TrueCaller app and see what will appear? I hope our intelligence
agencies are working on this. Chima Okoro might be a pseudo name. This
guy is a major lead for the Abuja bombing,” Osborg posted.
Internet users are calling on security
experts to use clues left on the Internet to trace the identity of the
suspected bombing forecaster.
Okoro, in the morning of October 1, had
tweeted, “I pray for Nigeria: There will be a bomb blast in Abuja and
Lagos, Boko Haram is going to attack and kill police, army& Navy
their evils (sic).”
The Twitter account had on its profile a photograph of a dark-complexion young man relaxing in a room while holding up a mobile phone.
Tweeters had started raising the alarm
on the tweets shortly after the Friday blast. The account was taken
down, leading to another round of controversy.
Across different social media platforms,
the development has continued to raise questions, with many individuals
advising Internet users against reckless comments.
On DisQus, Omoyo Oba, said, “The man may
be innocent but this should serve as a lesson to those who just say
what they like on social media. He may have just brought problems to
himself because he could not keep his fingers away from the keyboard.”
While many Nigerian Internet users still
get away with their criminal activities, tech experts have noted that
Internet Protocol could be of immense help in tracing cybercriminals. IP
is to a computer what a street number is to a house.
