The Nigeria Police Force has dismantled a large-scale cyber-enabled telecommunications fraud scheme valued at about ₦7.7 billion, leading to the arrest of six suspects accused of unlawfully diverting airtime and data belonging to a major telecom operator.
The operation was carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre (NPF–NCCC) after the affected company submitted a formal petition, police authorities disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin.
According to the statement, the telecom firm alerted security agencies to irregularities within its systems, reporting “suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payments infrastructure.”
Subsequent investigations revealed that login credentials belonging to internal staff had been compromised, allowing the suspects to gain unauthorised access to the company’s core operational platforms.
“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 N7.7bn,” Hundeyin said.
Police said the investigation involved weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance before coordinated enforcement actions were launched in October 2025 across Kano and Katsina states. A follow-up operation later led to another arrest in the Federal Capital Territory.
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The six suspects arrested in connection with the alleged fraud were identified as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
Items recovered during the operations included two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets housing more than 400 laptops and about 1,000 mobile phones, as well as a Toyota RAV4 vehicle. Police said the assets are believed to be proceeds of the illicit operation.
Investigators also traced and recovered significant sums of money from bank accounts linked to the suspects. The police said the suspects would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
Commending the officers involved, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, praised their professionalism and reaffirmed the commitment of the force to protecting Nigeria’s digital and financial systems.
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