Police Arrest Six For ‘Hacking Telecom Firm To Divert ₦7.7bn Airtime,’ Recover ‘400 Laptops’

The Nigeria Police Force has arrested no fewer than six suspects for allegedly hacking a telecommunication company in Nigeria.
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This is contained in a statement by the Force Spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday.

Hundeyin disclosed that the suspects allegedly gained unlawful access into the core systems of the telecommunication company.

He said they diverted airtime and mobile data worth N7.7 billion.

“The syndicate was 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,” the statement reads.

“The breakthrough followed a petition by a Nigerian telecommunications company, which reported suspicious and unauthorised activities within its billing and payments infrastructure.

“Investigations revealed that internal staff login credentials had been compromised, granting threat actors unlawful access to core systems.

“Following weeks of planning, coordinated enforcement operations were executed in October 2025 in Kano and Katsina States, with a follow-up arrest in the Federal Capital Territory.

“The suspects would be charged to court on the completion of the investigation.

“Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has commended the officers involved in the investigation for their professionalism.”