Gombe Police Arrest Eight Suspected Armed Robbery, Cybercrime Syndicate Members

Gombe, Nigeria 🇳🇬 July 5, 2026

The Gombe State Police Command has arrested eight suspected members of a criminal syndicate allegedly involved in armed robbery and cyber-enabled financial fraud across several communities in the state.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, the arrests followed an intensive investigation into a robbery incident reported on June 7, 2026.

The police said two residents of Wuro Birji in Akko Local Government Area, Hassan Muhammad and Jibril Hassan, reported that unidentified assailants armed with cutlasses broke into their homes and carted away their mobile phones.

Investigations revealed that after stealing the phones, the suspects allegedly used information stored on the devices to gain unauthorized access to one victim's bank account. The syndicate reportedly withdrew ₦296,790 from the victim's GTBank account and also obtained and withdrew a Quick Loan worth ₦205,205, bringing the total financial loss to over ₦500,000.

The Command disclosed that through intelligence gathering and technical analysis of the fraudulent transactions, investigators traced one of the transactions to a Moniepoint account, leading to the arrest of the first suspect, Mustapha Kabiru, also known as "Musty Bobo," a 19-year-old National Diploma II Computer Science student of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaltungo.

The suspect was arrested on June 29, 2026, at about 5:30 p.m.

Police said the suspect confessed during interrogation to using information obtained from stolen mobile phones to access victims' bank accounts and carry out fraudulent transactions. His confession reportedly led to the arrest of seven additional members of the syndicate.

Further investigations indicated that the group was allegedly responsible for more than 13 similar robbery and cyber fraud incidents in Wuro Birji, Riyal, Bomala, and Jauro Jatau communities within Gombe State.

The Police Command said investigations are ongoing and efforts have been intensified to apprehend other fleeing members of the criminal network.

The Commissioner of Police, Umar Ahmed Chuso, commended the operatives for their professionalism and dedication, reaffirming the Command's commitment to combating armed robbery, cybercrime, and other criminal activities.

He also advised residents to safeguard their personal information and digital devices while promptly reporting suspicious activities to the nearest police station.