The Nigeria Police Force – National Cybercrime Centre (NPF–NCCC) has dismantled a sophisticated fraud syndicate, arresting six suspects and recovering assets linked to a massive N7.7 billion telecommunications fraud.
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin.
The breakthrough came after a formal petition from a major Nigerian telecoms provider, which reported suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payment infrastructure.
Investigations revealed that internal staff login credentials had been compromised, allowing the syndicate illicit access to critical systems and enabling the illegal diversion of airtime and data resources.
In coordinated enforcement operations executed across October 2025, police teams moved in on locations in Kano and Katsina States, with a subsequent arrest in the Federal Capital Territory.
The raids led to the arrest of six individuals identified as: Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
A wide array of assets, believed to be proceeds of the crime, were seized. These include two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, several retail outlets for GSM devices and laptops containing over 400 laptops and 1,000 mobile phones, a Toyota RAV4 vehicle, and substantial sums of money traced to the suspects’ accounts.
The suspects are currently in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.
Commenting on the operation, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, commended the NPF-NCCC officers for their professionalism and diligence.
He reiterated the Force’s unwavering commitment, through its cybercrime centre, to safeguarding Nigeria’s digital and financial spaces, dismantling criminal networks, and ensuring that offenders face the full wrath of the law.
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