Crime
World’s police in technological arms race with Nigerian mafia
Nigeria is… major recruitment ground for Black Axe
BBC)
Police units around the world have joined forces in a series of covert operations targeting one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks – Black Axe.
Operation Jackal III saw officers in body armour carry out raids in 21 countries between April and July 2024.
The mission, co-ordinated by global policing agency Interpol, led to the arrest of 300 people with links to Black Axe and other affiliated groups.
Interpol called the operation a “major blow” to the Nigerian crime network, but warned that its international reach and technological sophistication mean it remains a global threat.
In one notorious example, Canadian authorities said they had busted a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth more than $5bn (£3.8bn) in 2017.
“They are very organised and very structured,” Tomonobu Kaya, a senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, told the BBC.
According to a 2022 report by Interpol, “Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud as well as many other serious crimes”.
Mr Kaya said innovations in money-transfer software and cryptocurrency have played into the hands of group, which are renowned for multi-million dollar online scams.
“These criminal syndicates are early adopters of new technologies… A lot of fintech developments make it really easy to illegally move money around the world,” he said.
Operation Jackal III was years in the making and led to the seizure of $3m of illegal assets and more than 700 bank accounts being frozen.
Many Black Axe members are university educated and are recruited during their schooling.
The organisation is a secretive criminal network with trafficking, prostitution and killing operations around the world.
Cyber-crime, targeting individuals and businesses, is the organisation’s largest source of revenue.
Multiple so-called “Jackal” police operations have taken place since 2022.
Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members have been arrested and their electronic devices seized during these transnational raids.
This work has enabled Interpol to create a vast intelligence database, which is now shared with officers throughout its 196 member countries.
“We need to have data and to collate our findings from these countries to help build a picture of their modus operandi,” said Mr Kaya.
Despite multiple international arrests, some experts feel not enough is being done to address the root of these crime syndicates in West Africa.
“The emphasis must actually be on prevention not on outright operations against these criminal groups,” said Dr Oluwole Ojewale, West Africa Regional Co-ordinator from the Institute for Security Studies.
Nigeria, which has witnessed widespread anti-corruption protests in recent weeks, is one of Africa’s largest economies, but has as many as 87 million people living below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. It is also the main recruitment ground for Black Axe.
Interpol said it was carrying out training exercises with key Nigerian stakeholders and police officials. But corruption, and allegations of collusion between Black Axe and local authorities, remain major obstacles.
“It is the politicians who are actually arming these boys,” said Dr Ojewale. “The general failure of governance in the country has made pressures for people to be initiated [into Black Axe].”
Despite its current global reach, Interpol’s Jackal Operations have their origins in Ireland.
Following a series of police raids by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) in 2020, a handful of Black Axe members were arrested, paving the way for the exposure of a far wider network.
“They were very under the radar, very low-key,” said Michael Cryan, detective superintendent at the GNECB, which led the operation.
“The amount of money being laundered through Ireland was astronomical,” he added.
The police subsequently identified 1,000 people with links to Black Axe in Ireland and have made hundreds of arrests for fraud and cyber-crime.
“Bank robberies are now done with laptops – they’re far more sophisticated,” said Det Supt Cryan.
He estimates €200m ($220m; £170m) have been stolen online in Ireland in the past five years, and that only accounts for the 20% of cyber-crimes that are believed to be reported.
“This is not typical or ordinary crime… People who make decisions need to know how serious this is,” he said.
Irish police operations in November 2023 revealed that cryptocurrency – which can be sent rapidly between digital wallets around the world – is becoming an integral element in Black Axe’s money-laundering operations.
More than €1m in crypto-assets were seized during one operation.
Interpol has deployed its own new technology in an attempt to tackle these innovations, launching the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system (I-GRIP).
The mechanism, which enables the authorities in member countries to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed, was used to halt a $40m scam targeting a Singaporean business last month.
Interpol’s Mr Kaya said technology like this would make it harder for criminals to move money across borders with impunity.
A major effort is under way to gather and share intelligence on Black Axe and other West African syndicates by police around the world.
“If we can gather this data we can take action,” he said.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed cybercrime charges against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing him of involvement in the unlawful interception of phone communications belonging to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
QAccording to court documents, the charges stem from El-Rufai’s statements during a live interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on February 13, 2026. In the broadcast, he reportedly admitted to accessing an intercepted conversation in which Ribadu allegedly instructed security operatives to arrest him upon his return to Nigeria.
Prosecutors allege that this interception seriously compromised national security and public safety, creating widespread fear among citizens by exposing vulnerabilities in high-level communications.
The three-count charge accuses El-Rufai of violating provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. He faces allegations of direct participation in the unlawful interception as well as failing to report those responsible for the act to the appropriate authorities.
The development follows intense public backlash and calls for investigation after El-Rufai’s televised remarks, which drew criticism from political figures, including presidential aides, who described the admission as a confession to illegal wiretapping of a top security official.
El-Rufai has previously denied direct wrongdoing in related controversies, framing his comments within broader claims of surveillance practices by government agencies.
The case is expected to heighten political tensions ahead of future elections as proceedings unfold in court.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a China-based Nigerian businessman and two Angolan nationals after they excreted a total of 236 wraps of cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano.
A 34-year-old Nigerian, Ibeanu Vincent Chukwudulue, who relocated to Guangzhou, China in 2024 after business on Lagos Island, was intercepted on February 4, 2026, aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Kano en route to China via Abuja and Doha. Body scans confirmed ingestion, and he excreted 52 pellets weighing 735.95 grams under observation.
The Angolans, 50-year-old Mbandu Martins Makiadi and 52-year-old Ngoma Wilson Fernando from Luanda, were nabbed the same day at Kano airport during clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Istanbul via Addis Ababa. Mbandu excreted 76 wraps (920 grams) in seven sessions, while Ngoma expelled 108 pellets (1.33 kg) in five sessions.
They claimed recruitment by a Luanda auto spare parts dealer promising $3,000 each for delivery in Turkey.
In a separate operation, NDLEA thwarted an attempt by convicted drug kingpin Olashupo Michael Oladimeji—serving five years at Ikoyi Correctional Centre for a prior 17.9 kg cocaine case—to export 1.1 kg of cocaine hidden in garri (cassava granules) to London via Virgin Atlantic from Lagos airport.
The February 12 consignment, sent via his Dimeji Express Logistics firm, led to the arrest of staff Adedeji Yusuf Gbolahan; investigations traced the plot to Olashupo directing from prison.
Another Lagos export bid involving 1.7 kg of skunk concealed in jerry cans to the UK was foiled, resulting in the arrests of cargo agent Mustapha Quddus Opeyemi and sender Adelaja Taiwo Adetayo.
In Abuja, operatives on February 12 intercepted a waybill from Enugu containing a children’s toy guitar hiding 59.2 grams of Canadian Loud cannabis, leading to the arrest of owner Henry Onuma in Life Camp.
A major bust in Lagos saw NDLEA raid a four-bedroom duplex at Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki on February 13, uncovering a Colorado (synthetic cannabis) production factory. Following a prior seizure of 73 cartons of nitrous oxide en route to Benin City, officers recovered 13.2 kg of freshly produced Colos, precursor chemicals, and arrested Victor Oyedeji and driver Amos Innocent.
Additional seizures included 1.189 kg Colos/skunk, 320 grams methamphetamine, ₦2.975 million cash, and two vehicles from female dealer Oluwayemisi Bunmi in Ibadan; 105,400 tramadol pills from Kamilu Abdullahi in Kwara; and 563.5 kg skunk from five suspects in Edo’s Ovia North East forest.
NDLEA continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization in schools and communities nationwide.
NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) commended operatives for their balanced supply and demand reduction efforts, urging sustained professionalism.
The Nigerian Army has intensified its efforts to combat the recent resurgence of banditry attacks in Plateau State, with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, approving the immediate deployment of the COAS Intervention Battalion of Special Forces to the region.
According to a press release from Captain Chinonso Oteh, Media Information Officer for the Joint Task Force Operation ENDURING PEACE, the newly deployed special forces personnel will join existing troops already operating in the state.
Their mandate is to aggressively and decisively confront the escalating threats posed by bandit groups, marking a significant escalation in military response aimed at restoring lasting security.
Upon arrival at the Headquarters of 3 Division in Jos, the troops were received on behalf of the General Officer Commanding 3 Division and Commander of Joint Task Force Operation ENDURING PEACE, Major General Folusho Oyinlola.
Representing him was the Chief of Staff for Operation ENDURING PEACE, Brigadier General Senlong Sule. Brigadier General Sule urged the special forces operatives to conduct offensive operations against the bandits with decisiveness and ruthlessness.
He commended Lieutenant General Shaibu’s proactive leadership in supplying essential combat enablers and logistical support to ensure the troops can effectively fulfill their mandate.
Major General Oyinlola, through his representative, appealed to residents of Plateau State not to be alarmed by the increased movement of large numbers of troops and heavy military equipment across the state. He emphasized that these deployments are part of coordinated efforts to neutralize criminal elements.
The GOC also thanked citizens for their ongoing support to the military and called for heightened collaboration, particularly through the timely provision of actionable intelligence on the locations and activities of criminal groups.
Such community input, he noted, will be crucial in enabling troops to achieve the desired peace and stability in Plateau State and surrounding areas.
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