The Nigeria Police Force says it has arrested 21 suspects across a series of separate cybercrime investigations, including an alleged scheme to manipulate MTN Nigeria’s billing system.
Force Public Relations Officer CSP Anietie Okonko Iniedu disclosed the arrests in a statement Thursday detailing recent operations by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre. Investigation into the MTN case began after the telecoms company reported unauthorised use of staff login credentials to manipulate its billing and payment systems. Police allege the suspects credited airtime to selected mobile numbers, converted it into data bundles, and distributed the proceeds across more than 2,000 prepaid lines, causing an estimated ₦7.7 billion in losses. MTN reportedly recovered 2,931.79 terabytes of data valued at roughly ₦3.8 billion.
In a separate operation, the cybercrime centre said it dismantled a suspected international fraud syndicate in Asaba, Delta State, arresting six suspects accused of impersonating internationally recognised figures to defraud foreign victims. The operation followed intelligence shared by the UK’s National Crime Agency through the British High Commission in Abuja. Working alongside the City of London Police under Operation Seraphim, police also arrested four suspects allegedly linked to a Telegram-based network accused of stealing and selling the personal and financial data of mainly UK citizens.
In another case, three suspects were arrested over an alleged fake online investment platform falsely presented as affiliated with the Nigerian Exchange. Investigators say victims lost about ₦29.8 million, traced to cryptocurrency wallets linked to the suspected operators.
Police also announced the arrest of one suspect for allegedly circulating a manipulated video of social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, with audio falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu. Another suspect was arrested over a viral Facebook post falsely claiming that nearly 1,000 Boko Haram members had been deployed to Abuja, a claim police described as false and capable of inciting public panic.
Iniedu said nine principal suspects remain at large, with investigations continuing to identify and apprehend others connected to the various cases. The allegations remain under investigation, and all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
