By: Abdullahi Inuwa
The Kebbi State Police Command has dismantled a 13-member cybercrime syndicate operating across the state, while dismissing widespread claims of a terrorist group known as “Sai Mallam” as false and misleading.
Police said investigations revealed that the rumours of armed criminals imposing levies on communities in Argungu and Zuru Emirates stemmed from a misunderstanding of the activities of a notorious cybercrime gang locally known as “Yan Vocal”, rather than the existence of any terrorist organisation.
Speaking in Birnin Kebbi on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, said the command had found no evidence of a terrorist group called “Sai Mallam” operating anywhere in the state.
According to him, the suspects, mostly youths aged between 19 and 24, specialise in hacking social media accounts, creating fake online identities and using blackmail, threats and digital deception to extort money from unsuspecting victims.
He explained that the syndicate targeted politicians, traditional and religious leaders, business owners and other prominent individuals both within and outside Nigeria.
The police said the gang employed sophisticated online tactics, including video-editing software and pre-recorded nude videos, to trick victims into believing they were engaged in live video conversations with women before demanding huge sums of money to prevent the fabricated content from being released.
Following an intelligence-led operation, detectives arrested 13 suspects linked to the criminal network.
Among those apprehended were Ahmed Nasir, Rabiu Sani, Sadiq Umar and Umar Nasir, all of Argungu, who allegedly conspired to obtain nude images of a female victim and demanded ₦1 million under the threat of exposing the images.
Police also arrested Faisal Muhammed and Abbas Baraye over their alleged involvement in online blackmail using nude photographs.
In another case, Abdullahi Abubakar, Abdulhamid Mukhtar and Al’amin Aminu were accused of manipulating a video to falsely portray a victim participating in a live video call with a naked woman before allegedly defrauding the victim of ₦3 million.
Similarly, Haliru Bashar, Abubakar Faruk, Almustapha Munnir and Saifullahi Nata’ala allegedly obtained a nude video of a female acquaintance through a sex-related Snapchat group and threatened to publish the material for financial gain.
Reacting to the arrests, the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Hadejia, warned that cybercrime carries severe legal consequences and urged parents and guardians to closely monitor the online activities of their children to prevent their involvement in internet-related crimes.
He also advised members of the public to safeguard their personal information, avoid suspicious online interactions and promptly report any case of cyber extortion, blackmail or online fraud to the nearest police station.
The police reiterated that there is no terrorist group known as “Sai Mallam” operating in Kebbi State, urging residents to disregard the false reports and continue supporting security agencies with credible information.
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