The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a ₦7.7 billion cyber-enabled telecommunications fraud and arrested six suspects linked to the illegal diversion of airtime and data resources belonging to a telecom company.
The discovery was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin. He said the operation was carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC) following a petition from the affected telecommunications company.
According to the police, the company reported suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payments infrastructure. Investigations revealed that internal staff login credentials had been compromised, granting the perpetrators unlawful access to the company’s core systems. This access enabled the syndicate to divert airtime and data resources, resulting in an estimated financial loss exceeding ₦7.7 billion.
After weeks of intelligence gathering and planning, coordinated enforcement operations were conducted in October 2025 across Kano and Katsina states, with a follow-up arrest carried out in the Federal Capital Territory. Six suspects were arrested during the operation. They were identified as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
Items recovered from the suspects include two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets containing over 400 laptops and 1,000 mobile phones, as well as a Toyota RAV4 vehicle. The police said all the recovered assets were proceeds of the crime. Substantial sums of money traced to the suspects’ bank accounts were also recovered.
The suspects are expected to be charged to court upon completion of investigations. Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the officers involved for their professionalism and reiterated the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to safeguarding the nation’s digital and financial ecosystems.
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