The Nigeria Police Force, acting through its National Cybercrime Centre (NPF–NCCC), has arrested suspects tied to a major cyberattack campaign targeting Microsoft 365 email systems, in a coordinated operation supported by international partners including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Secret Service.
In a statement on Thursday, Force Public Relations Officer CSP Benjamin Hundeyin said the arrests followed “credible and actionable intelligence” shared by the FBI and Microsoft, which identified a sophisticated phishing toolkit used to compromise corporate email credentials.
Investigators traced the use of a malicious toolkit called RaccoonO365, which was engineered to create fake Microsoft login portals designed to harvest user credentials and unlawfully infiltrate email platforms of corporate, financial and educational institutions.
According to the police, the phishing scheme was active from January to September 2025, and the deceptive emails it deployed closely mimicked legitimate Microsoft authentication pages.
“These activities resulted in business email compromise, data breaches, and financial losses across multiple jurisdictions,” the statement said.
Acting on the intelligence, NPF–NCCC operatives conducted operations in Lagos and Edo States, arresting three suspects and seizing laptops, mobile devices and other digital equipment at their residences. Forensic analysis linked the recovered items to the alleged cyber fraud operation.
Further investigations identified Okitipi Samuel, also known by the online aliases “RaccoonO365” and “Moses Felix,” as the principal suspect believed to have developed and operated the phishing infrastructure. Police said Samuel used a Telegram channel to sell phishing links for cryptocurrency and hosted fraudulent login portals on cloud services using stolen or fraudulently obtained credentials.
The statement added that authorities found “no evidence linking the two other arrested individuals to the creation or operation of the phishing scheme.”
The Nigeria Police Force reaffirmed its commitment to “safeguarding Nigeria’s digital space through the deployment of advanced technology, strengthened international partnerships, and diligent investigative and prosecutorial processes,” as it works to counter evolving cyber threats.
