Nigerian Police Arrest Hacker Who Stole Over N1 Billion from Enugu Government

The Nigeria Police Force has apprehended a notorious hacker, Onuma Osita, for infiltrating the financial system of the Enugu State government and embezzling N1,097,700,300. The arrest followed a thorough investigation conducted by the Nigeria Police Force-National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC).

During a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Police spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi revealed that the stolen funds, equivalent to $754,977, had been successfully recovered and returned to the Enugu State treasury. “The NPF-NCCC investigated a report from the Enugu State Government about a procurement fraud scheme. The suspect, Onuma Osita, has been arrested, and the funds have been secured,” Adejobi stated.

Adejobi further disclosed that in addition to the recovered funds, law enforcement seized 14 land documents believed to be proceeds of the crime. Additionally, 685 devices were confiscated, including 467 mobile phones, 137 laptops, 46 routers, four Starlink systems, 28 desktop computers, four servers, and a drone.

In a related development, the police also arrested another suspected cybercriminal, Douglass Victor, linked to an international syndicate specializing in identity theft, business email compromise, computer fraud, and money laundering.

Adejobi explained that the syndicate, allegedly led by one Diepreye Samuel, targets businesses and individuals by hacking email communications to divert funds. He noted, “During interrogation, the suspect admitted to stealing customers’ email addresses and passwords, compromising business conversations, and diverting funds to the syndicate’s accounts.”

The investigation uncovered thousands of compromised email credentials and login details stored in the suspect’s Skype account. Adejobi added, “The syndicate operates internationally, with members scattered across various countries. Communication and transactions are exclusively conducted via Skype, making their operations difficult to trace.”

Efforts are underway to track and apprehend the syndicate’s leader and other members still at large.

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