The Nigeria Police Force has successfully uncovered and dismantled a sophisticated cyber-enabled fraud syndicate responsible for diverting a telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources, resulting in estimated losses of over ₦7.7 billion.
According to a press release signed by CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, Force Public Relations Officer, the breakthrough followed a petition from the telecommunications company reporting unauthorized activities within its billing and payment systems.
Investigations revealed that internal staff login credentials had been compromised, allowing the fraudsters unlawful access to core systems.
Coordinated enforcement operations were carried out in October 2025 across Kano and Katsina States, with a follow-up arrest in the Federal Capital Territory.
Six suspects: Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad were taken into custody.
Assets recovered include two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets containing over 400 laptops, 1,000 mobile phones, a Toyota RAV4, and substantial sums of money traced to the suspects’ accounts.
The suspects are expected to be charged to court upon completion of investigations.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, praised the officers involved for their professionalism and reiterated the force’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s digital and financial ecosystems, dismantling cyber-criminal networks, and holding offenders accountable regardless of position or affiliation.
