Cybercrime: Police nab six, shutdown Abuja ‘Yahoo Academy’

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a syndicate operating in a cybercrime recruitment and mentoring hub in Abuja.

The Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, made this known in a statement shared on NPF’s Facebook page on Wednesday.

The statement partly reads, “The investigation and operation was initiated in response to a series of intelligence reports that indicated a deep involvement of the syndicate in various cybercrimes, including Business Email Compromise, Romance Scams, and High Yield Investment Program Fraud.

“Upon receiving the intelligence, a team of Cybercrime Forensic Experts and Investigators were detailed on the case, painstaking effort expended in clinically investigating the case which led to the arrest of six (6) suspects at their hideout in the Dantata estate area of the FCT and the recovery of several digital gadgets and effects used in perpetrating their criminal enterprise on the 13th of September, 2023.

“The suspects namely Bernard Joseph aged 27, Emmanuel Joseph aged 22, Obasi Ikechukwu aged 19, Anijiofor Tobechuckwu aged 26, Andrew Moses aged 19, and Israel Ezekiel aged 19, summarily confessed to their various degrees of involvement in cybercrime including identity theft, hacking and trading of hacked Facebook accounts, romance scam, computer-related forgery, and other computer related fraud punishable under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act, 2015.

“It is pertinent to state that the investigation is ongoing and efforts to apprehend the fleeing members of this criminal network are underway.

“Meanwhile, the arrested suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.”