The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has recorded a major breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime with the dismantling of a sophisticated syndicate accused of illegally accessing the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) database and commercialising Nigerians’ personal data.
The arrests followed a petition to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, by the Director-General of NIMC over reports of unauthorised access, distribution, and sale of personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to citizens.
Addressing Journalists on Thursday, the Deputy Force Public Relations, CSP Isuku Victor Edailokun, operatives of the National Cybercrime Centre (NPCC) launched a specialised investigation which uncovered a network of individuals operating multiple fake online verification platforms, including goverify.com.ng, idfinder.com.ng, verifymyNIN.com, verify4me.com.ng, anyverify.com.ng and several others.
CSP Isuku Victor Edailokun noted that two key suspects, Hamzat Lukman and Babalola Tolani Suleiman, were arrested in Kwara and Lagos States. Lukman, a software developer, allegedly created and hosted the goverify.com.ng domain and three other illicit sites for Tolani, who used them for commercial identity verification.
He said further investigation led to the arrest of other accomplices including Nura Bello, another software developer; Ibrahim Abubakar, linked to idfinders.com.ng; Shuara Kehinde Nurudeen; Abubakar Hamissu; Abubakar Salisu; and Ashiru Sani.
He revealed that the syndicate employed advanced digital tools to unlawfully interface with the National Identity Database, selling and distributing NIN-linked personal data for profit. All identified domains have since been deactivated.
In her remarks, the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote disclosed that robust enforcement measures in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies have led to significant breakthroughs against illegal activities targeting the nation’s identity infrastructure.
Speaking to journalists, she urged Nigerians to desist from patronising unauthorised agents or business centres for NIN-related services, stressing that only approved front-end partners and NIMC centres listed on the official website remain legitimate. She added that the Commission is intensifying citizen engagement to educate the public on the risks of identity fraud and the benefits of proper enrollment procedures.
Engr. Coker-Odusote further explained that NIMC has upgraded its key services to enhance efficiency and safeguard citizens’ data, including the introduction of pre-enrollment options online and the deployment of an application that enables biometric authentication for secure transactions.
She assured that the Commission has strengthened its cybersecurity systems to protect Nigerians’ data and commended security agencies, particularly the National Cybercrime Centre, for their sacrifices and commitment in combating cyber threats and identity-related crimes.
Speaking on the development, the Director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center, CP Uche Ifeanyi Henry, reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to intensifying crackdowns on cybercrime networks, protecting Nigeria’s critical digital infrastructure, and safeguarding citizens’ data privacy.
“We will continue to pursue and dismantle syndicates behind unlawful access to government databases while reinforcing the integrity of national digital assets,” the Director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center assured.
The Police also disclosed that manhunts have been intensified to apprehend other shadow actors and accomplices connected to the illegal scheme.