The Katsina State Police Command has apprehended four individuals suspected of engaging in illegal SIM card swapping and bank fraud. The arrests, announced on Thursday, followed a targeted operation based on credible intelligence.
According to Abubakar Aliyu, the police spokesperson, the suspects used sophisticated techniques to fraudulently access victims’ bank accounts after illegally swapping their SIM cards.
“The suspected notorious fraudsters who specialized in swapping SIM cards of unsuspecting members of the public to fraudulently use sophisticated tactics to withdraw money from their victims’ bank accounts,” Aliyu said during a press briefing.
The police recovered 32 SIM cards from the suspects and revealed their identities:
- Muhammad Murtala, alias Bomboy, age 20, of Rahamawa quarters.
- Muhammad Umar, alias Dogon Baba, age 33, of Sabuwar Unguwa quarters.
- Muhammad Quraish, age 29, of Sabuwar Kasuwa quarters.
- Emmanuel Ogunwoye, alias OG, age 25, a bank staff member.
The suspects reportedly confessed to the crime during interrogation.
“The command, acting on credible intelligence, launched an operation to track down the syndicate. After a thorough investigation, four suspects were arrested and confessed to the commission of the offense,” Aliyu added.
Arrests in 12-Year-Old’s Abduction and Murder
In a separate case, the Katsina police also arrested two individuals for the abduction and murder of Salihu Sadi, a 12-year-old boy in Kaita Local Government Area.
Aliyu disclosed that the suspects, identified as Muttaka Garba and Yusuf Usman, kidnapped the boy while he was running an errand for his mother.
The suspects demanded a ransom of ₦25 million from the victim’s parents but tragically killed the boy during negotiations.
“These suspects callously took the life of an innocent child after making financial demands from his family,” Aliyu said.
