Nigeria Police Trains 192 Officers On Athena Forensic Intelligence Solution, Arrests Three for Cyberstalking, Identity Theft, Fraud

Nigeria Police Trains 192 Officers On Athena Forensic Intelligence Solution, Arrests Three for Cyberstalking, Identity Theft, Fraud

‎The Nigeria Police Force, in partnership with Radio Tactics Group Limited, has just concluded a nationwide specialized capacity training program on the Athena Forensic Intelligence Solution (AFIS). The training which held from July 9 to August 15, 2025 comprised 192 officers of the Force, drawn from the 36 State Commands, including the Federal Capital Territory and 10 specialized formation, aimed at strengthening the digital, forensic and intelligence gathering of officers in efforts to combat cyber related crimes across the country.

‎The training had experts from the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) and Radio Tactics group as facilitators who further drilled training participants on threat identification, extracting and processing communication and location data from SIM cards, GPS devices, satellite phones, and various mobile devices including grey-market phones, biometric capture, and the use of forensic hotlists to match intelligence records with operational data. These mission-ready skills are expected to improve the Force’s response to cyber-related crimes and complex investigations across commands and formations.

‎In a related development and in furtherance of the Force’s effort to combat cyber related crimes, operatives of the NPF-NCCC have arrested three suspects namely Gbenga Samuel, Dele Titus, Olalekan Oke in Abuja and Lagos for cyberstalking, identity theft, and online fraud. The suspects were found to have been involved in large scale digital impersonation schemes and other cyber related offenses.

‎On the 18th of July, 2025, the suspects hacked a WhatsApp account belonging to an unsuspecting user, called the user and threatened to expose confidential data on the account if the sum of Three Million Naira (3,000,000) wasn’t paid. Detailed forensic analysis of the account led to the arrest of the suspects, recovery of the account and discovery of an ongoing organized crime which is currently under investigation.

‎The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has again reiterated the commitment of his leadership to embracing modern and digitalized approaches towards combating cyber crime and related offenses, and continuous training and re-training of personnel to meet best global practices in the face of emerging threats.