By Anthony Otaru, Abuja
Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have uncovered and dismantled a sophisticated cyber fraud syndicate responsible for the illegal diversion of a telecommunications company’s airtime and mobile data valued at over ₦7.7 billion, and have arrested six suspects in coordinated operations across Kano, Katsina and the Federal Capital Territory.
The breakthrough was disclosed on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, who said the suspects hacked into the telecom firm’s core systems after compromising internal staff login credentials.
Hundeyin identified the suspects as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
According to him, “the syndicate was responsible for the illegal diversion of a telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources, resulting in an estimated financial loss of over ₦7.7 billion.”
He said the investigation was triggered by a petition from the affected telecom company, which reported “suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payments infrastructure.”
“Investigations revealed that internal staff login credentials had been compromised, granting threat actors unlawful access to core systems,” Hundeyin said.
He explained that, after weeks of intelligence gathering and planning, coordinated enforcement operations were carried out in October 2025 in Kano and Katsina States, with a follow-up arrest in Abuja.
Items recovered from the suspects include two mini plazas used as retail outlets, over 400 laptops, about 1,000 mobile phones and a Toyota vehicle.
Hundeyin added that a “substantial” amount of money traced to the proceeds of the fraud had been recovered from the suspects’ bank accounts.
He said the suspects would be charged in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has commended officers of the National Cybercrime Centre for their professionalism and diligence in uncovering the cybercrime network.
