In a bid to prevent more Nigerians from falling victims to Ponzi schemes, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday conducted a sensitisation campaign at Wuse Market in the heart of Abuja.
Led by its Director General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, the SEC team distributed informational flyers and engaged traders on the risks associated with investing in unregulated schemes.
The team also emphasized the importance of verifying any investment opportunity with the Commission before committing funds.
Speaking to journalists after the event, Agama explained that the initiative was part of the SEC’s ongoing efforts to protect Nigerians from fraudulent investment platforms.
He noted that Nigerians have collectively lost over N1.3trn to the CBEX Ponzi scheme, underscoring the urgent need for greater awareness.
“It is crucial that Nigerians understand the dangers of putting their hard-earned money into ventures that are not registered or regulated by the SEC,” Agama stated.
He said, “We are happy that we have come out here to inform them and more importantly, they are now being enlightened to the effect that if it is too good to be true then it is not good, certainly it is not true. They encouraged us to come back again on this journey and we have also encouraged them to inform more people all around them about the dangers of Ponzi schemes. We believe strongly that by this action, a lot of people would be free from ponzi scheme scams.
“We decided to do this sensitization to the market because we discovered that it is difficult for people to get the information that will protect them. Sitting in our offices and requiring them to go to our websites and getting to us through the telephone may not be the best way; we needed to come out to let them know the dangers of a ponzi scheme.”
Painting a stark picture of the dangers of ponzi schemes, Agama said, “The danger is real. You could lose all your money. You could fall into ill health from the stress. When that happens, you risk destroying your family, your foundation, your business, even your nation.”
He expressed the determination of the Commission to stamp out Ponzi schemes and all other illegal investment platforms from Nigeria.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed into law the new ISA 2025. Now, anyone involved in Ponzi schemes—whether influencers, bloggers, accomplices, or anyone else—faces a 20 million naira fine and up to 10 years in jail.
“We will not stop here. We will go to every market we can reach—every nook and cranny of this country. We will visit churches, mosques, hospitals, even the navy. We want everyone to hear this message.
“It is never too late. When you wake up, that is your morning. Now that you are educated, you can protect yourselves and others. Ponzi schemes are a global problem, but together, we can fight them here.”
He further said that “The SEC of today is reaching out like never before. We will continue to do this, but we need your help to spread the information. Together, we will be better off.”
Also commenting, Executive Commissioner Legal and Enforcement of the SEC, Ms. Frana Chukwuogor, urged the traders to shun schemes that offer unreasonably high returns as they are only out to fleece unsuspecting Nigerians.
“Ponzi schemes are illegal investment behaviors that build on nothing. We need to enlighten Nigerians about the dangers of Ponzi and we think going all out to enlighten women will make our job easier” she stated.
She added that the Commission was in Wuse Market to help investors key into the resources avaialable in the Commission to make them better protected. “ we want to strengthen investors in thier knowledge and understanding of the capital market, we want people to invest, but they should verify with SEC first”
Speaking during the sensitization campaign, traders took turns to narrate their experiences with the illegal CBEX platform.
Chijioke Nnodim, a trader in the market stated that people lost money to the scheme because they were greedy.
“Greedy people lost their money. Some people paid N20m, some people paid N15m, one woman N10m. She owes her workers now. People don’t even know where to find the operators again.
“Nigerians should open their eyes, they should learn lessons from other people. You should watch well before you put your money. Some put up N5m, some N10m. Let Nigerians learn a lesson from this,” he said.
On his part, Abraham Onojie, narrated: “When they came to me, I said let me give it a try and I invested N2m, after one week, they paid me N2,450,000. I felt like it was real. My neighbor went and invested N20m. And after 7 days, they paid him N27m. They will bring live chicken; they will bring a crate of eggs. Not until I went and invested N7m. The days I invested my money I travelled, I was in my home town when they called me that those people could not be found.
“Nigerians should be careful of the kind of people that come to them to say you should invest. Don’t listen to them to avoid what happens to them.”