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.
According to the statement, the company reported “suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payments infrastructure.”
The police said investigations revealed that “internal staff login credentials had been compromised, granting threat actors unlawful access to core systems.”
The syndicate responsible for the illegal diversion of a telecommunications company’s airtime and data resources, resulting in “an estimated financial loss of over ₦7.7 billion.”
Following weeks of planning, the police said “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 added 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.
The Punch
