Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have arrested six suspects allegedly involved in a cyber-enabled scheme to hack a telecommunications company and divert airtime and mobile data worth approximately N7.7 billion.
Force spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin disclosed in a statement on Wednesday that the suspects unlawfully accessed the telecom firm’s core systems.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ahmad Bala, Karibu Mohammed Shehu, Umar Habib, Obinna Ananaba, Ibrahim Shehu, and Masa’ud Sa’ad.
Police operatives recovered two mini plazas, several retail outlets containing over 400 laptops, 1,000 mobile phones, and a Toyota vehicle during coordinated raids.
Hundeyin also confirmed that a “substantial” amount of money linked to the suspects had been traced to their bank accounts.
“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 N7.7 billion,” the statement read.
According to the statement, the breakthrough followed a petition by the telecommunications company reporting suspicious and unauthorized activity within its billing and payment systems.
Investigations revealed that internal staff login credentials had been compromised, granting the suspects unlawful access to core systems.
“The arrests were carried out following weeks of planning and coordinated enforcement operations in October 2025 across Kano and Katsina States, with a follow-up arrest in the Federal Capital Territory,” Hundeyin added.
The suspects are expected to be charged to court upon the completion of the investigation.
Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, commended the officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and diligence in dismantling the sophisticated cyber-enabled fraud syndicate.
