The police high command, on Tuesday, revealed how an alleged cyber criminal hacked into the system of the Enugu State Government and stole the sum of N1,097,700,300 from its coffers.

The force said it took the intervention of the operatives of its departments, the Nigeria Police Force-National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), to trace the hacker and recover the stolen funds.

The force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja during a press briefing, gave the name of the hacker as Onuma Osita.

Adejobi, told newsmen that the hacker had already been arrested while the funds estimated to be $754,977 had been recovered and returned to the state government purse.

“NPF-NCCC investigated a report by the Enugu State Government against one Onuma Osita who defrauded the Enugu State Government of over N1bn in a procurement fraud.

“The suspect was arrested and the sum off N1,097,700,300 approximately $754,977 was recovered and returned to the Enugu State Government,” the senior cop told journalists at the briefing.

He added, “14 land documents recovered as proceeds of crime, 685 devices recovered comprising 467 phones, 137 laptops, 46 routers, four star link, 28 desktop, four servers and a drone.”

Reeling out numbers of the recoveries, Adejobi said operatives also apprehended a suspected cybercriminal, Douglass Victor, who was linked to a syndicate specializing in identity theft, business email compromise, computer-related fraud and money laundering.

According to him, the syndicate, allegedly led by one Diepreye Samuel, operated internationally, targeting companies and individuals through compromised email communications to divert funds for personal use.

He said, “During interrogation, the suspect confessed to customers’ email addresses and passwords, compromising business conversations, and diverting funds to their syndicate.

“Thousands of compromised email credentials and login details were recovered from his Skype account. The suspect further disclosed that the syndicate operates internationally, with members located across the globe.

“Communication and transactions among the members are conducted exclusively through Skype, making their operations highly elusive. Efforts are currently in top gear to track and apprehend the head of the syndicate and other members who remain at large.”

Adejobi, however, said a total of 751 suspects were arrested for cybercrime-related fraud in the year 2024, adding that 14 convictions were secured during the period under review with 508 cases.

“508 cybercrime cases were reported, with sextortion, cyberstalking and computer-related fraud as the most prominent. 751 suspects arrested, 14 convictions secured,

N7,907,001,881.80 and 115,237.91 USD were frozen in different bank accounts, and crypto-wallets were recovered for victims.

“26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land and 14 land documents were recovered as proceeds of crime. 685 devices comprising 467 phones, 137 laptops, 46 routers, four-star link, 28 desktops, four servers and a drone were also recovered,” Adejobi added. (Courtesy of Daily Trust)