Odita Sunday 
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested several suspects in separate cybercrime investigations, including a suspected sextortionist accused of defrauding victims of N3.5m and $1,500 through online romance scams.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, NPF National Cybercrime Centre, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Centre’s conference hall.
Ezima said the investigations covered business email compromise, investment fraud, identity theft, impersonation, sextortion and other technology-enabled crimes.
In one of the cases, the Centre arrested Abdulwajeed Abdullahi, who allegedly operated under the pseudonym “Captain Junaid,” following a petition by a female victim.
The suspect allegedly contacted the woman on TikTok before moving the conversation to WhatsApp, where he developed a romantic relationship with her and allegedly induced her to send intimate photographs and videos.
The police said he subsequently demanded $3,000 and threatened to release the materials if she failed to pay.
“Further investigation identified another victim, also reported losing ₦3,500,000.00 to the same ‘Captain Junaid’ identity,” Ezima said.
He added that another female victim from Bauchi State allegedly paid the suspect $1,500 under a purported foreign exchange trading arrangement.
The suspect was arrested in Kano on August 4. Forensic examination of devices recovered from him allegedly revealed intimate photographs and videos belonging to multiple women, as well as forged academic certificates and identity cards bearing his photograph but different names.
Ezima said the suspect confessed to commencing romance scam activities in January 2026 and admitted using the identity and publicly available photographs of a Saudi pilot, “Captain Abdullahi Rajhi,” to create the fake persona.
In another case, the police arrested David Adeyemi Temitope in Lagos over an alleged sophisticated Business Email Compromise operation.
The suspect was arrested at his residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, Lagos, on July 20, following an investigation conducted in collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies under the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.
According to Ezima, forensic examination of devices recovered from the suspect yielded more than 12.5 million victim email logs involving victims in over 50 countries, including Canada, Germany, the United States, India, France and the Netherlands.
The suspect’s Bank Verification Number was also linked to accounts with six financial institutions and fintech platforms, including GTBank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.
A Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43, suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crime, was also recovered.
“The investigation further established that the suspect made in excess of One Hundred Million Naira (₦100,000,000.00) from the criminal enterprise,” Ezima said.
He explained that the suspect allegedly used phishing kits obtained from a vendor on Telegram to compromise Microsoft 365 login credentials belonging to employees of targeted companies.
In another investigation, the Centre arrested Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, proprietor of Kestart Technology, over an alleged international cyber-enabled investment fraud and money laundering operation.
The investigation followed a petition over the alleged fraudulent loss of N56.29m by victims who were induced to participate in a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform promising high returns.
Ezima said investigations traced the funds through several entities, while Kestart Technology allegedly served as a terminal off-ramp for proceeds associated with the syndicate.
He said a reconstruction of Kestart Technology’s account showed terminal cash-out inflows and outflows totalling N3.62bn between October 2025 and May 2026.
“Further investigation revealed that approximately ₦3.62 billion in suspected proceeds of crime was converted into Tether (USDT) stablecoins through Bybit Peer-to-Peer transactions,” the AIG said.
Ihekaire was arrested in Lagos on August 13 and allegedly admitted ownership of Kestart Technology and involvement in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading on Bybit.
The police said they would pursue legal processes for the forfeiture of funds under lien in the company’s account and associated cryptocurrency assets, with a view to facilitating victim restitution where applicable.
Meanwhile, two suspects, Emeka Egba Anthony, 28, and Ogboji Solomon Emeka, 29, were arrested in Anambra State over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related fraud.
The arrests followed a complaint by a top civil servant who alleged that his identity was stolen and used on WhatsApp and Facebook.
According to Ezima, operatives arrested the suspects on August 4 and recovered 24 registered and 33 unregistered MTN SIM cards, 26 registered and 18 unregistered Airtel SIM cards and an MTN toolkit from the first suspect.
Anthony allegedly admitted being a registered toolkit operator with MTN and Airtel and engaging in the buying and selling of registered and unregistered SIM cards.
He also allegedly admitted creating a social media profile using the identity of “Catherine Harry,” purportedly a UK citizen, to defraud individuals in India.
The second suspect, Ogboji, allegedly admitted dealing in pre-registered SIM cards, which the police said facilitated identity theft, impersonation and other forms of cybercrime.
In another case, the Centre arrested Babatunde Olamilekan Idowu, also known as “CSP Bamiseye,” for alleged impersonation of a serving Commissioner of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja.
The police alleged that the suspect, alongside other members of his syndicate who remain at large, impersonated senior police and government officials to defraud a victim of N17m.
According to Ezima, the suspect allegedly posed as CSP Bamiseye of the FID, while other members of the syndicate purportedly acted as the Inspector-General of Police and Attorney-General of the Federation.
The suspect was arrested in Ekiti State and allegedly confessed to the offence.
Ezima warned members of the public to verify the identity of anyone contacting them while claiming to be a police officer or senior government official.
He also warned cybercriminals that the Police were strengthening their technical capabilities and international partnerships to identify, trace and prosecute offenders.
“The long arm of the law will catch up with you,” the AIG warned.
He added that the use of encrypted platforms, cryptocurrency or false identities would not guarantee cybercriminals protection from arrest.
The suspects in the various cases are expected to be prosecuted under relevant provisions of the Cybercrimes Act and other applicable laws.
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