The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested a suspected internet fraudster, Abdulwajeed Abdullahi, over alleged romance scam, sextortion and impersonation.
The suspect, who allegedly operated online as “Captain Junaid,” was arrested at his residence in Kano State on August 4, 2026, following a petition by a woman who accused him of demanding money and threatening to release her private photographs and videos.
The Director of the National Cybercrime Centre, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed the arrest in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ezima said the investigation began after the woman petitioned the police on July 28, alleging that Abdullahi had established a romantic relationship with her online before allegedly demanding $3,000.
According to the police, the suspect first contacted the woman through TikTok on June 18 before moving their communication to WhatsApp.
Ezima said, “The suspect developed a romantic relationship with the complainant and allegedly induced her to send intimate photographs and videos.”
He added that the suspect later threatened to publish the materials after demanding the money.
“On 18th July, 2026, the suspect demanded US$3,000.00 and threatened to release the intimate materials if payment was not made,” he said.
The police said further investigation uncovered other victims allegedly linked to the same online identity.
Ezima stated that one victim reportedly lost N3.5m to the suspect, while another woman from Bauchi State allegedly paid $1,500 under the guise of participating in foreign exchange trading.
“Further investigation identified another victim, also reported losing ₦3,500,000.00 to the same ‘Captain Junaid’ identity,” Ezima said.
He explained that cyber-intelligence techniques eventually led investigators to identify the person behind the account as Abdullahi and trace him to Kano.
“Through Open-Source Intelligence and other investigative techniques, the person behind the ‘Captain Junaid’ account was identified as Abdulwajeed Abdullahi and traced to Kano State,” he said.
According to the police, forensic analysis of devices recovered from the suspect uncovered intimate materials belonging to several women, alongside forged academic certificates and identity documents bearing his photograph but different names.
Ezima said Abdullahi allegedly confessed during interrogation, admitting that he began romance scam activities in January 2026.
“He admitted receiving ₦3,500,000.00 from a victim and US$1,500.00 from another and threatening the complainant with the release of her intimate photographs,” the AIG said.
The suspect also allegedly admitted creating the fake persona by using the name, photographs and publicly available information of a Saudi pilot identified as “Captain Abdullahi Rajhi.”
The police said some of the photographs and videos used by the suspect were obtained from Telegram groups.
In a separate investigation, the Cybercrime Centre arrested David Temitope in Lagos over an alleged Business Email Compromise operation.
Temitope was arrested at his residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, on July 20 following an investigation conducted with foreign law enforcement agencies through the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.
Ezima said forensic examination of devices recovered from the suspect produced more than 12.5 million email logs allegedly belonging to victims across more than 50 countries.
He said the suspect’s BVN was linked to accounts with several financial institutions and fintech platforms, including GTBank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.
A Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43, allegedly acquired from the proceeds of the suspected crime, was also recovered.
“The investigation further established that the suspect made in excess of ₦100,000,000.00 from the criminal enterprise,” Ezima said.
The police alleged that Temitope used phishing kits sourced from a Telegram vendor to obtain Microsoft 365 login details of employees of targeted organisations.
The Centre also arrested Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, the proprietor of Kestart Technology, over an alleged international investment fraud and money laundering scheme.
The investigation followed complaints involving an alleged N56.29m loss by victims who were reportedly lured into a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform promising high returns.
Police said Kestart Technology allegedly served as an outlet through which proceeds linked to the suspected syndicate were moved.
According to Ezima, a review of the company’s account showed cash inflows and outflows of about N3.62bn between October 2025 and May 2026.
“Further investigation revealed that approximately ₦3.62 billion in suspected proceeds of crime was converted into Tether (USDT) stablecoins through Bybit Peer-to-Peer transactions,” he said.
Ihekaire was arrested in Lagos on August 13 and allegedly admitted owning Kestart Technology and engaging in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions.
The police said they would commence legal proceedings to recover funds and cryptocurrency assets linked to the investigation and facilitate restitution to victims where applicable.
In Anambra State, the Centre arrested Emeka Egba Anthony, 28, and Ogboji Solomon Emeka, 29, over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related fraud.
Their arrest followed a complaint from a senior government official who alleged that his identity had been stolen and used to create accounts on WhatsApp and Facebook.
Police said 24 registered and 33 unregistered MTN SIM cards, 26 registered and 18 unregistered Airtel SIM cards and an MTN toolkit were recovered from Anthony.
Anthony allegedly admitted being a registered toolkit operator and dealing in registered and unregistered SIM cards.
Police also alleged that he created a social media account using the identity of a purported UK citizen, “Catherine Harry,” to defraud people in India.
Ogboji was also accused of dealing in pre-registered SIM cards allegedly used to facilitate identity theft and impersonation.
In another case, police arrested Babatunde Olamilekan Idowu, popularly known as “CSP Bamiseye,” for allegedly impersonating a serving Commissioner of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja.
The police alleged that Idowu and other members of his syndicate, who remain at large, impersonated senior police and government officials to defraud a victim of N17m.
According to Ezima, Idowu allegedly posed as a police officer while other members of the group purportedly impersonated the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
He was arrested in Ekiti State and allegedly confessed to the offence.
Ezima urged members of the public to independently verify the identities of people who contact them while claiming to be police officers or senior government officials.
He also warned cybercriminals that the police were expanding their technical capabilities and international partnerships to detect, trace and prosecute cybercrime suspects.
“The Police are strengthening their technical capabilities and international partnerships to identify, trace and prosecute offenders,” Ezima said.
