Six suspects hack telecom firm, divert ₦7.7bn airtime, data – Police

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has uncovered a major ₦7.7 billion telecom fraud involving cyber-enabled criminal activities.

The police said it 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 Benjamin Hundeyin, force public relations officer, the police revealed that the operation was carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre following a petition from the affected company.

According to the statement, the company reported “suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payments infrastructure.”

The police further explained that investigations uncovered that “internal staff login credentials had been compromised, granting threat actors unlawful access to core systems.”

The fraud syndicate responsible for diverting the telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources resulted in “an estimated financial loss of over ₦7.7 billion.”

After weeks of meticulous planning, the police stated that “coordinated enforcement operations were executed in October 2025 in Kano and Katsina States, with a follow-up arrest in the Federal Capital Territory.”

The statement further disclosed that six suspects were arrested during the operation: “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 mentioned that “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.”

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the officers involved in the operation for their professionalism.

The IGP was quoted saying that 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.”