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. In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Benjamin Hundeyin, the police said the operation was carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre following a petition from the affected company. “They include Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad,” the police said. Items recovered from the suspects include “two residential houses in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop retail outlets containing over 400 laptops, 1,000 mobile phones, as well as a Toyota RAV4 vehicle — all proceeds of the crime.”The police also said “substantial sums of money traced to the suspects’ accounts were recovered,” and that “the suspects would be charged to court on the completion of the investigation.”Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the officers involved in the operation. The statement quoted the IGP as saying he “commended the officers involved in the investigation for their professionalism.”He also “reiterated the unwavering resolve of the Nigeria Police Force, through the NPF–NCCC, to safeguard Nigeria’s digital and financial ecosystems, dismantle cyber-criminal networks, and ensure that offenders are held accountable regardless of position or affiliation.”

Source: Punch January 28, 2026 15:28 UTC