Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested three suspects in separate investigations involving alleged romance scam, business email compromise and international investment fraud.
The Director of the Centre, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Ezima said one of the suspects, Abdulwajeed Abdullahi, allegedly operated online under the pseudonym “Captain Junaid” and defrauded victims of N3.5 million and $1,500.
He also allegedly threatened a female victim with the release of her nude photographs and videos unless she paid $3,000.
According to Ezima, the suspect was arrested at his residence in Kano State on Aug. 4 following an investigation into a petition submitted by the female complainant on July 28.
He said the suspect initially contacted the woman through TikTok on June 18 before moving the conversation to WhatsApp.
“The suspect developed a romantic relationship with the complainant and allegedly induced her to send intimate photographs and videos,” Ezima said.
He said the suspect allegedly demanded $3,000 from the woman on July 18 and threatened to release the intimate materials if she failed to pay.
Further investigation, Ezima said, identified another victim who allegedly lost N3.5 million to the same “Captain Junaid” identity.
He added that another woman from Bauchi State allegedly paid the suspect $1,500 under a purported foreign exchange trading arrangement.
Ezima said operatives, using open-source intelligence and other investigative techniques, identified the person behind the online account as Abdullahi and traced him to Kano.
He said forensic examination of devices recovered from the suspect revealed intimate photographs and videos belonging to multiple women, as well as forged academic certificates and identity cards bearing his photograph but different names.
The AIG said Abdullahi confessed during interrogation that he began romance scam activities in January 2026 and had been using the “Captain Junaid” identity to obtain money under false pretences.
“He admitted receiving ₦3,500,000.00 from a victim and US$1,500.00 from another and threatening the complainant with the release of her intimate photographs,” Ezima said.
He added that the suspect allegedly used the identity, photographs and publicly available materials of a Saudi pilot identified as “Captain Abdullahi Rajhi” to create the fake persona.
According to Ezima, some of the photographs and videos allegedly used by the suspect were obtained from Telegram groups.
Police Arrest Suspected Business Email Compromise Operator
In a separate case, the Centre arrested David Temitope in Lagos over an alleged sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) operation.
Ezima said 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.
He said forensic examination of devices recovered from Temitope yielded more than 12.5 million victim email logs involving victims in more than 50 countries, including Canada, Germany, the United States, India, France and the Netherlands.
The suspect’s Bank Verification Number was also allegedly linked to accounts with six financial institutions and fintech platforms, including GTBank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.
Ezima said operatives also recovered a Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43, which was suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crime.
“The investigation further established that the suspect made in excess of N100,000,000.00 from the criminal enterprise,” he said.
According to the AIG, the suspect allegedly used phishing kits obtained from a vendor on Telegram to compromise Microsoft 365 login credentials belonging to employees of targeted companies.
Police Arrest Suspected Investment Fraud Operator
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 an alleged N56.29 million loss suffered by victims who were allegedly induced to participate in a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform promising high returns.
Ezima said investigations traced the funds through several entities, with Kestart Technology allegedly serving as a terminal off-ramp for proceeds associated with the syndicates.
He said a reconstruction of the company’s account showed terminal cash-out inflows and outflows totalling N3.62 billion between October 2025 and May 2026.
“Further investigation revealed that approximately N3.62 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 Aug. 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.
Ezima reiterated the Centre’s commitment to investigating cybercrime cases and working with relevant domestic and international partners to disrupt cyber-enabled criminal activities.
