Police uncover 12.5m stolen email logs, N3.62bn crypto trail in separate investigations
The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested a suspected romance scammer, Abdulwajeed Abdullahi, for allegedly defrauding victims of N3.5m and $1,500, while threatening a woman with the release of her nude photographs and videos.
The suspect, who allegedly operated online as “Captain Junaid,” was arrested at his residence in Kano State on August 4 following a petition by one of his alleged victims.
The Director of the National Cybercrime Centre, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this on Wednesday, saying the investigation began after a woman petitioned the police over the suspect’s alleged activities.
According to Ezima, the suspect met the woman on TikTok on June 18 before moving their conversation to WhatsApp, where he allegedly developed a romantic relationship with her and persuaded her to send intimate photographs and videos.
The suspect allegedly demanded $3,000 from the woman on July 18 and threatened to publish the materials if she failed to pay.
Further investigation, Ezima said, revealed another victim who allegedly lost N3.5m to the same “Captain Junaid” identity, while a woman from Bauchi State allegedly paid the suspect $1,500 under a purported foreign exchange trading arrangement.
“Through Open-Source Intelligence and other investigative techniques, the person behind the ‘Captain Junaid’ account was identified as Abdulwajeed Abdullahi and traced to Kano State,” Ezima said.
Forensic examination of devices recovered from the suspect allegedly uncovered intimate photographs and videos belonging to several women, as well as forged academic certificates and identity cards bearing his photograph but different names.
Ezima said Abdullahi confessed during interrogation, allegedly admitting that he began romance scams in January 2026.
The suspect also allegedly admitted using the identity and photographs of a Saudi pilot, identified as “Captain Abdullahi Rajhi,” to create the fake “Captain Junaid” persona.
N100m cybercrime haul
In a separate investigation, the Cybercrime Centre arrested David Temitope in Lagos over an alleged sophisticated Business Email Compromise operation.
Temitope was arrested at his residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, on July 20 following an investigation conducted with foreign law enforcement agencies under the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.
Police said forensic examination of devices recovered from him uncovered more than 12.5 million victim email logs involving individuals and organisations in over 50 countries.
The suspect’s Bank Verification Number was also allegedly linked to accounts with six banks and fintech platforms, including GTBank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.
Police further recovered a Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43 allegedly acquired with proceeds of crime.
Ezima said investigations indicated that the suspect made more than N100m from the alleged criminal enterprise.
N3.62bn crypto trail uncovered
The police also announced the arrest of Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, proprietor of Kestart Technology, over an alleged international cyber-enabled investment fraud and money laundering operation.
The investigation followed a petition alleging that victims lost N56.29m after being lured into a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform promising high returns.
According to Ezima, reconstruction of Kestart Technology’s account revealed cash inflows and outflows totalling N3.62bn between October 2025 and May 2026.
He said about N3.62bn in suspected proceeds of crime was allegedly converted into Tether (USDT) stablecoins through Bybit peer-to-peer transactions.
Ihekaire, who was arrested in Lagos on August 13, allegedly admitted ownership of Kestart Technology and involvement in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading.
More arrests
The Cybercrime Centre also arrested Emeka Egba Anthony, 28, and Ogboji Solomon Emeka, 29, in Anambra State over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related fraud.
Police said the arrests followed a complaint by a top civil servant whose identity was allegedly stolen and used on WhatsApp and Facebook.
Investigators reportedly recovered dozens of registered and unregistered MTN and Airtel SIM cards from the suspects.
In another case, police arrested Babatunde Olamilekan Idowu, also known as “CSP Bamiseye,” over alleged impersonation of a serving Commissioner of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja.
The suspect allegedly belonged to a syndicate that impersonated senior police and government officials to defraud a victim of N17m.
Ezima warned members of the public to verify the identities of anyone contacting them while claiming to be police officers or senior government officials.
He assured that the police were strengthening their technical capabilities and international partnerships to track down and prosecute cybercrime suspects.
