The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a notorious hacker, Onuma Osita, who allegedly infiltrated the financial system of the Enugu State government and embezzled N1,097,700,300. The arrest followed a detailed investigation led by the Nigeria Police Force-National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC).
Nigerian Bar Association Monthly Newsletter Maiden Edition – December 2024
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the Police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, revealed that the stolen funds, valued at approximately $754,977, have been successfully recovered and returned to the Enugu State treasury.
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Adejobi stated:
“The NPF-NCCC investigated a report by the Enugu State Government against one Onuma Osita, who defrauded the government of over N1 billion in a procurement fraud scheme. The suspect has been arrested, and the funds have been secured.”
During the operation, police recovered additional items suspected to be proceeds of the crime. These included 14 land documents, 467 mobile phones, 137 laptops, 46 routers, four Starlink devices, 28 desktops, four servers, and a drone.
Arrest of Another Cybercriminal Syndicate Member
In a related development, police operatives apprehended another cybercriminal, Douglass Victor, linked to an international syndicate specializing in identity theft, business email compromise (BEC), computer-related fraud, and money laundering.
Nigerian Bar Association Monthly Newsletter Maiden Edition – December 2024
Adejobi explained that the syndicate, allegedly led by Diepreye Samuel, exploited compromised email communications to siphon funds from businesses and individuals worldwide.
“Thousands of compromised email credentials and login details were recovered from the suspect’s Skype account,” Adejobi disclosed. “The syndicate operates internationally, with members located across the globe. Communication and transactions among members are conducted exclusively via Skype to avoid detection.”
Efforts are ongoing to locate and apprehend the syndicate’s leader and other operatives still at large.
The arrests underscore the growing sophistication of cybercrime in Nigeria and the proactive measures taken by the NPF-NCCC to combat such threats, safeguarding government and private sector financial systems.