The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrimes Centre (NPF-NCCC) has arrested seven suspects over alleged money laundering, business email compromise, sextortion, blackmail, romance scams and other internet-related offences.
Akaninyene Ezima, Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of the centre, disclosed this on Wednesday at a news conference in Abuja.
Ezima said one of the suspects was arrested after Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) requested the preservation of data linked to an IP address allegedly used in a sophisticated business email compromise operation.
The investigation, codenamed “Operation Broken Mask”, was conducted in collaboration with the BKA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) through the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.
According to Ezima, the suspect was arrested on July 20 at his residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, Lagos, after investigative processes linked him to the alleged operation.
A forensic examination of devices recovered from the residence reportedly revealed more than 12.5 million email logs belonging to victims in over 50 countries.
Police also found that the suspect’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) was linked to accounts with six financial institutions and fintech platforms, including Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.
A Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43, which police allege was purchased with proceeds of crime, was also recovered.
Ezima said the suspect allegedly used phishing kits obtained through Telegram to compromise Microsoft 365 credentials belonging to employees of targeted companies. Police estimate that he made more than N100 million from the alleged operation.
The cybercrime centre also arrested a technology company owner over alleged international cyber-enabled investment fraud and money laundering.
Ezima said the arrest followed a petition filed by Ugwu Francisca & Co. on behalf of Elizabeth and Prince Iruaregbon.
The petition alleged that the complainants lost N56.3 million after they were induced to invest in a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform that promised high returns.
Investigators allegedly traced the funds to accounts operated by entities linked to the suspected syndicate.
According to the police, the suspect’s technology company was allegedly used to convert proceeds from the fraud.
An examination of the company’s account with Save Heaven Microfinance Bank reportedly showed terminal cash-out inflows and outflows totalling N3.2 billion between October 30, 2025, and May 31, 2026.
Ezima further said investigators found that about N3.6 billion in suspected proceeds of crime was converted to Tether (USDT) through Bybit peer-to-peer transactions.
The suspect was arrested on August 13 in Agiliti, Lagos. Police said he admitted to owning Kestart Technology and engaging in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading on Bybit.
The NPF-NCCC also arrested two suspects in Anambra State over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related fraud.
Ezima said the investigation followed a complaint by Faruk Yabo, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, who alleged that an individual was impersonating him on WhatsApp and Facebook.
The suspects were arrested on August 4 following technical intelligence and other investigative activities, according to the AIG.
Police recovered 24 registered and 33 unregistered MTN SIM cards, 26 registered and 18 unregistered Airtel SIM cards, as well as an MTN toolkit.
Ezima said one of the suspects admitted to buying and selling registered and unregistered SIM cards and creating a social media account using the identity of a United Kingdom citizen. The account was allegedly used to defraud people in India.
The police said investigations into the cases are ongoing.
