Nigerian Police Dismantle Major Cybercrime Hub

Nigerian police have uncovered and shut down a cybercrime recruitment and training center in the country’s capital.

A post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) claimed that its National Cybercrime Center (NCCC) made six arrests after officers raided the hub in the Dantata Estate area of Abuja.

“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,” the post explained.

“The suspects … summarily confessed to their various degrees of involvement in cybercrime including identity theft, hacking and trading of hacked Facebook accounts, romance scams, computer related forgery, and other computer related fraud punishable under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act, 2015.”

Police are still tracking other members of the group who fled the scene and will charge the suspects once the investigation is completed, the notice said.

Read more on Nigerian cybercrime: Nigerian Cybercrime Ring’s Phishing Tactics Exposed

The NPF also made an appeal to locals not to turn a blind eye to suspected cybercrime groups operating in their area.

“The NPF wishes to urge landlords/landladies, facility owners, to expose any such cybercrime recruitment centre and mentoring hubs noticed in their areas or houses. We need to break the conspiracy of silence and expose the evil doers in our society,” it said.

“We want to reassure the public that we will continually work with partners, stakeholders, and other relevant security agencies to decimate activities of cyber-criminals and other criminals across the country.”

Nigeria has long been a cybercrime hotspot, dating back to the days of the 419 scam. It continues to be a major source of BEC and various online fraud threats.

Last year, Nigerian police arrested 11 suspected members of a prolific BEC gang that may have targeted hundreds of thousands of organizations.