News
Police Burst Gangs Who Empty Bank Accounts with SIM Cards
Zakarriyah Yahaya, a 46-year-old suspect, also known as ”His Excellency”, on Monday revealed how and his gang emptied the bank accounts of many Nigerians using lost or stolen SIM cards.
Yahaya, among 39 suspects paraded for various crimes at defunct headquarters of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abuja by the Nigerian Police, explained that bank accounts of many Nigerians receiving alerts are easy to access by using their account and phone numbers.
The suspects were arrested across the country by Force Investigation Bureau of Intelligence Response Team (IRT) led by Tunji Disu, who took over recently from Abba Kyari, suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Speaking to journalists, the suspect said, ”My name is Zakarriyah Yahaya, I was born and brought up in Jos. I was arrested last month in Mabushi here in Abuja. I used to reset any SIMs that receive bank alert. I will reset it and steal all the money inside the bank account.
”I do reset it with victim’s bank account number through bank code from the first to the last number. Any bank that we get, we first use it to buy recharge card, from there, they will send us the alert. From the alert, we will now get the account number.”
When asked for the banks they are mostly interested in, he said First Bank and Access Bank because they are easy to reset.
He disclosed that they started the job in the last two years and no fewer than eleven members of the gang are working for him, adding that they are operating in three main cities: Kano, Plateau and Abuja.
He said he could not recall the exact numbers of bank accounts they’d stolen from but they had once removed N800,000 from one of the accounts.
Explaining how they operate from the police’s investigation, Frank Mba, force spokesman, said the criminals do acquire SIM packs in large numbers and re-activate old phone numbers people don’t use again and explore any bank account’s details.
Mba said, ”Yahaya Zakari controls multiple gangs of cyber crooks whose talk-in-trade is to go after SIM cards, phone numbers of innocent Nigerians, breaking into their privacy, steal their banks’ IDs, and steal monies from the accounts.
”They have two main modus oprandi. The first is to go and purchase or acquire MTN lines, the new starter kits in large numbers. When they get these, they tried to hack BVN.
”Experience has shown them that at this stage, some of our service providers are recycling old numbers. Persons who had used phones and probably for some reasons have travelled out of the country, or for any other reason chose not to use the number again, and those numbers are dormant and currently being recycled and being re-issued to persons as new numbers.
”They are very skilful and they have ways of knowing or decoding old numbers. So, when they put on their MTN starter packs, and they are given options to select numbers, they select old numbers, and at random, they tried to explore and see if they could get bank details from those old numbers. That is their first modus.”
Mba also said the criminals do attack their victims physically, collect their phones and target their SIM, adding that they are not interested in the phones but the SIM cards.
He, however, appealed to Nigerians to guide their phones jealously and quickly report to their banks and service providers if their phones get lost.
According to him, ”The second, which is very dangerous where they sometimes hurt innocent citizens both physically and financially, is through deploying gangs that attack innocent citizens, forcefully snatch their phones, or sometimes get these phones stolen via pickpocketing.
”Once they get these phones, their target is not the phone, no matter how expensive your phone is, they are not interested in that phone, that’s not the main target. That could actually be a by-product or a side benefit from the crime, but the major target is your SIM card.
”And once they get your SIM card, they tried to play around with it, and see if they could find anything that can link them or take them straight into victims’ accounts, and they had done these successfully.
”With that, if they get access to your bank details, they go straight to steal your money. The lesson for all of us here is that, we must guide our phones jealously. Even when you lose a phone or a number and you think you’ve got two or three other numbers or lines, don’t let your number go back to strange hands, go back to your service providers and do all what’s necessary, re-activate and re-claim your lines.”
Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
PalmPay, Nigeria’s leading fintech company, has partnered with Globacom to launch the second edition of the “Recharge and Win Bonanza” campaign. The promotion, which runs from June 19th to August 8th, 2025, offers Nigerians the chance to win amazing prizes when they purchase Glo airtime and data via the PalmPay app.
According to a joint statement by PalmPay and Globacom, “A weekly live raffle draw will be held and streamed on PalmPay’s official social media channels throughout the campaign. Customers who make Glo transactions through the PalmPay app will be eligible to win prizes, including the iPhone 15 Pro, Infinix Hot 40, and other exciting items”.
To participate, interested customers can log onto http://bit.ly/PalmPaySms .
The statement added that all transaction above N500 gives participants an extra shot at winning, adding that daily social media challenges will also offer participants a chance to win cash prizes.
Additionally, PalmPay users can enjoy up to 6% cashback when they buy Glo airtime and data through the PalmPay app. As an added bonus, customers who have not subscribed to a Glo data plan in the last 90 days will receive a 100% bonus on their recharge during the campaign period.
Wayne Ruppel, Head of Billers at PalmPay Limited expressed excitement about the partnership, stating that, “This collaboration is a major step in our mission to deliver MORE – more support, more rewards, and more innovation to our customers.
Partnering with Glo, a leader in the telecommunications sector, is a testament to our shared commitment to improving everyday experiences for all Nigerians. We are excited to reward our users and encourage everyone to take full advantage of this exciting opportunity.
Globacom also expressed delight at creating additional value for its subscribers through unique customer-appreciation schemes.
“Our partnership with PalmPay on the “Recharge and Win Bonanza perfectly underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional value and experiences. Over the years, we have always sought innovative ways to enrich the lives of our customers. We, therefore, enjoin our subscribers to utilize the opportunity provided by the bonanza and enjoy the many benefits it offers”, the company stated.
PalmPay and Glo will collaborate throughout the campaign period to deliver exceptional customer experience, reward loyalty, and reinforce their shared mission to make digital transactions more accessible, rewarding, and secure for millions of Nigerians.
Lasaco Assurance Plc, has said it would continue to invest in technologies and systems that delivers tangible value to clients and drive industry innovation.
Mr Abiodun Razzaq, Managing Director of Lasaco Assurance, who stated this at the 2025 customer forum organised by the company for its northern region customers in Abuja, said the forum’s interactive session offered an invaluable platform for open and constructive dialogue.
He said the forum brought together a distinguished assembly of customers, including policyholders, brokers, corporate clients, and industry partners, to engage in a robust dialogue aimed at enhancing service delivery and aligning offerings with the evolving expectations of the Northern market.
In his opening remarks, Regional Manager (Northern Region), Lasaco Assurance, Mr. Kunle Hamza underscored the company’s unwavering dedication to stakeholder engagement as a foundational pillar of its growth strategy. He emphazised that customer insights remain integral to shaping policies, refining service processes, and reinforcing the company’s brand promise.
He provided a compelling overview of Lasaco assurance’s recent performance and strategic priorities. He highlighted the company’s consistent premium income growth, bold digital transformation agenda, and ongoing operational restructuring designed to ensure responsiveness and resilience in a dynamic insurance landscape.
Addressing the customers, Mr. Adedayo Adetokun, Head of Strategy, affirmed that Lasaco assurance was actively developing multiple digital platforms to cater forvarious customer segments—part of a broader digital innovation roadmap that positions the company for future growth. He noted that human capital development was also being prioritised with targeted investments in talent acquisition and training to enhance operational capacity.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Muyiwa Anwoju, General Manager, Sales, expressed the management’s deep appreciation for the feedback received.
He assured participants that all contributions would be meticulously reviewed, categorised, and integrated into the company’s improvement plans. According to Anwoju, this forum marks the beginning of a renewed customer engagement framework, one that would be expanded across other regions in due course.
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