The Nigerian government has announced that it has launched an investigation into a massive data breach affecting 183 million Google Mail (Gmail) users, including Nigerian account holders.

A senior official at the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), who requested anonymity, confirmed the probe in an interview with DAILY POST.

The investigation follows reports of a large-scale cyberattack that appears to have exposed the login credentials of millions of email accounts. The leaked data includes both email addresses and their associated passwords, putting users’ personal information at risk.

Experts warn that such breaches can give hackers access not only to compromised email accounts but also to other online accounts linked to Gmail, including social media, banking, and business services.

The alert was first highlighted by ‘Have I Been Pwned’, a website that tracks data breaches and is run by cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt. According to the site, it has documented 917 breached websites and over 15 billion compromised accounts.

Reacting to the incident, a source at the NDPC told DAILY POST, “We’ve begun an investigation into the data breach with Gmail and other affected services. We are on top of the matter to determine the extent of the impact on Nigerian users.”

The NDPC continues to monitor the situation and has urged Nigerians to take precautionary measures, such as changing passwords immediately and enabling two-factor authentication on their accounts.

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