Fraud Syndicate: 7 Arrested, ₦3.6 Billion Traced in Massive Cybercrime Crackdown
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Seven suspects have been arrested with over ₦3.6 billion in illicit funds traced to them in a major cybercrime crackdown by the Nigeria Police Force.
Announcing the breakthrough at a press briefing in Abuja, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Akaninyene Ezima revealed that the operations uncovered more than 12.5 million victim email records spanning over 50 countries.
The sophisticated crackdowns targeted multi-billion naira networks specializing in business email compromise (BEC), investment fraud, identity theft, sextortion, and impersonation.
One of the suspects, David Adeyemi Temitope, was arrested by operatives at the Megamound Estate in Lekki, Lagos.
Temitope’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) was linked to a massive Business Email Compromise (BEC) network.
Forensic analysis of his digital devices exposed over 12.5 million victim email logs targeting corporate entities across global hubs, including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and India.
Another suspect arrested in the fraud ring is Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, the sole proprietor of Kestart Technology, who allegedly specializes in a fraudulent WhatsApp-based stock trading platform.
Pre-Registered SIM Cards and Identity Theft Syndicate
Authorities also apprehended two suspects in Anambra State for alleged identity fraud. They are Emeka Egba Anthony (28) and Ogboji Solomon Emeka (29).
They are said to have defrauded victims on WhatsApp and Facebook. Investigators recovered a stockpile of telecom hardware used for fraudulent profiling to target victims in India.
Operatives also targeted suspects involved in sextortion and romance scams, leading to the arrest of one Abdulwajeed Abdullahi in Kano State, who operates under the false persona of “Captain Junaid”—a profile cloned from a real Saudi pilot. Abdullahi is said to have lured women into romantic relationships before blackmailing them. He allegedly defrauded a victim of ₦3.5 million and another of $1,500 under the guise of forex trading.
The others arrested are Paulsurplus Yohanna, a domestic employee caught while trying to sell stolen land documents, and Babatunde Olamilekan Idowu, caught for allegedly impersonating a Commissioner of Police attached to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja to defraud a petitioner of ₦17 million.
