By Kingsley Omonobi
ABUJA — Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre, NPF-NCCC, have uncovered an international cybercrime syndicate accused of diverting N6.174 billion from the treasury collection accounts of a financial institution during a digital system migration.
Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the NPF-NCCC, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this on Wednesday at a briefing in Abuja, saying two Indian nationals linked to the alleged scheme had been arrested, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the alleged mastermind.
Ezima said preliminary investigations indicated that the syndicate exploited vulnerabilities during the financial institution’s profile reconfiguration as it migrated from a public-sector Application Programming Interface, API, to a private-sector API.
He said investigators traced 761 unauthorised transactions totalling N6.174 billion to 105 beneficiary accounts across 19 commercial banks.
According to him, the syndicate had also attempted to divert N24.319 billion before the larger transaction was foiled.
Ezima said the stolen funds were allegedly channelled through legitimate corporate transactions involving customers of Ecovista Industries BVT Limited.
He gave the example of a customer who paid N27.5 million for a commercial consignment of rice but was later informed by the company that its bank account had encountered an issue.
According to him, the company subsequently refunded the customer N27.5 million from funds allegedly diverted through the compromised platform and directed the customer to transfer the money to another account.
“That refund made to the customer was not from their bank account. Rather, that money was stolen funds through the system configuration which was transferred to the customer. So they have successfully laundered that money,” Ezima said.
He said two Indian nationals connected to the company were in police custody and assisting investigators.
The AIG said the company’s Managing Director, Sandy Agawala, had been declared a person of interest and principal suspect in the case.
According to him, Agawala was believed to have left the country, while the police had commenced legal processes, including extradition channels, to secure his arrest.
He said the matter had been charged to court, while forensic teams were tracing assets linked to the alleged fraud for possible recovery.
Police arrest Abuja robbery suspects
Ezima also disclosed the arrest of two suspects allegedly linked to a violent robbery involving a couple exercising in Abuja on September 20, 2026.
He said the attackers, who operated on a motorcycle, allegedly robbed the victims of a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and an iPhone 17 Pro Max before gaining access to their digital banking applications.
According to him, the suspects transferred $950 from a foreign currency account and N1.219 million from a naira account.
Ezima said digital forensic tracking of a N50,000 airtime purchase made with part of the stolen funds provided a breakthrough that led to the suspects’ arrest.
He said searches conducted during the investigation recovered several mobile devices, National Identification Number, NIN, cards, corporate documents, a Toyota Corolla, ATM cards, seven Point-of-Sale, POS, terminals and a weapon.
Investigators also discovered, according to him, that one of the suspects allegedly operated two different Bank Verification Numbers, BVNs, under separate names but with identical photographs.
Police recover stolen Dubai-bound electronics
The AIG further disclosed that the centre had resolved an international transit theft involving a commercial consignment shipped from Dubai to Nigeria.
He said the consignment contained 222 iPhones and 15 smartwatches valued at $144,000, but the importer discovered upon arrival that the electronics had allegedly been stolen and replaced with old phone chargers and discarded newspapers.
Ezima said police operations in Oyo and Lagos states led to the arrest of key suspects and recovery of some of the stolen devices.
He added that three other suspects remained in custody as recovery efforts continued.
US extradition suspect arrested
Ezima also confirmed the arrest of Abiodun Olawale-Lawal, who is wanted in the United States over alleged wire fraud and attempted wire fraud.
He said the arrest followed an official extradition request received through the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on September 4, 2026.
According to him, NPF-NCCC operatives arrested Olawale-Lawal in Abuja on September 11, while extradition proceedings had commenced in court.
Police warn against unverified online posts
Ezima cautioned members of the public against disseminating unverified information online, citing an increase in cyber-stalking, cyber-bullying and alleged criminal defamation across digital platforms.
“The job of the police and the NCCC is not just arrest, arrest, arrest. We also owe a duty to members of the public to enlighten them,” he said.
“Think it through. Be sure that what you are posting is verified.”
To strengthen national cyber resilience, the NPF-NCCC also announced plans for a multi-stakeholder cyber-awareness campaign involving government agencies, financial institutions, technology sector leaders and academic institutions.
The campaign will include stakeholder sessions at the Police Resource Centre, school outreach programmes and a public awareness walkathon.
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