Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) have arrested six suspects for allegedly hacking into a telecommunications company's systems to illegally divert airtime and data worth ₦7.7 billion. Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed the arrests in a statement on Wednesday.
The suspects were identified as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad. The police recovered extensive assets, including two mini plazas, retail outlets containing over 400 laptops, 1,000 mobile phones, a Toyota vehicle, and traced a "substantial" amount of money to their bank accounts.
According to the statement, the syndicate compromised internal staff login credentials to gain unlawful access to the telecom company's core billing and payments infrastructure. The investigation followed a petition by the company reporting suspicious activities.
Coordinated enforcement operations were executed in October 2025 across Kano, Katsina States, and the Federal Capital Territory. The police described the bust as the dismantling of a "sophisticated cyber-enabled fraud syndicate."
The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, commended the officers for their professionalism. The suspects will be charged to court upon the completion of the investigation.
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