The Nigeria Police Power has uncovered a ₦7.7 billion cyber-enabled telecommunications fraud and arrested six suspects linked to the unlawful diversion of airtime and information sources belonging to a telecom firm.
In a press release issued on Wednesday by the Power Public Relations Officer, Power Headquarters, Abuja, Benjamin Hundeyin, the police stated the operation was carried out by the Nationwide Cybercrime Centre following a petition from the affected firm.
In response to the assertion, the corporate reported “suspicious and unauthorised actions inside its billing and funds infrastructure.”
The police stated investigations revealed that “inner workers login credentials had been compromised, granting threat actors illegal entry to core methods.”
The syndicate chargeable for the unlawful diversion of a telecommunications firm’s airtime and information sources, leading to “an estimated {financial} lack of over ₦7.7 billion.”
Following weeks of planning, the police stated “coordinated enforcement operations had been executed in October 2025 in Kano and Katsina States, with a follow-up arrest within the Federal Capital Territory.”
The assertion added that six suspects had been arrested in the course of the operation.
“They embody Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’advert,” the police stated.
Gadgets recovered from the suspects embody “two residential homes in Kano, two mini-plazas, GSM and laptop computer shops containing over 400 laptops, 1,000 cell phones, in addition to a Toyota RAV4 automobile — all proceeds of the crime.”
The police additionally stated “substantial sums of cash traced to the suspects’ accounts had been recovered,” and that “the suspects could be charged to courtroom on the completion of the investigation.”
In the meantime, the Inspector-Common of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, counseled the officers concerned within the operation.
The assertion quoted the IGP as saying he “counseled the officers concerned within the investigation for his or her professionalism.”
He additionally “reiterated the unwavering resolve of the Nigeria Police Power, by way of the NPF–NCCC, to safeguard Nigeria’s digital and {financial} ecosystems, dismantle cyber-criminal networks, and be certain that offenders are held accountable no matter place or affiliation.”