The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), through its National Cybercrime Centre, has dismantled a ₦7.7bn telecom fraud syndicate accused of illegally diverting airtime and data from a major telecommunications company.
The operation followed a complaint by the affected telecom firm, which reported suspicious activities within its billing and payment systems. Investigations revealed that the login details of some internal staff had been compromised, giving the suspects unlawful access to core operational platforms.
After weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering, coordinated raids were carried out in October 2025 across Kano, Katsina and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Six suspects were arrested during the operation. They are Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
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Items recovered from the suspects include two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets containing over 400 laptops, more than 1,000 mobile phones, a Toyota RAV4 vehicle and large sums of money traced to their bank accounts.
Police said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, commended the officers involved for their professionalism and dedication. He reaffirmed the commitment of the police to protect Nigeria’s digital and financial systems and ensure that those behind the ₦7.7bn telecom fraud syndicate are brought to justice.
The police described the operation as one of the biggest cybercrime crackdowns in recent years, warning that criminals involved in digital and financial fraud would continue to face decisive action from law enforcement agencies.
The Force also urged telecom operators and financial institutions to strengthen their internal security systems to prevent further attacks linked to the ₦7.7bn telecom fraud syndicate and similar criminal networks.