Money miss road
We have a new scam scheme to worry about
Good morning, Big Brains. Welcome back to the fantastic world of capitalism. Spoiler alert: There is a large-scale scam scheme we need to worry about today. Let’s get into it.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
We have a new scam scheme to worry about
Killaboi has been arrested by the Nigerian police again
The Big Deal
We have a new scam scheme to worry about
Not to trigger any PTSD, but the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned Africa of an Asian multibillion-dollar cyber scam that’s quickly spreading into the continent.
It’s been a few days since 600,000 Nigerians lost money to a Ponzi scheme, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), and according to UNODC, these new Asian scams are targeting more Nigerians.
In a report released on Monday, April 21, UNODC says that even though some regions are already trying to manage these scams, the guys behind them are getting smarter, more global, and harder to stop. These aren't your average Yahoo boys; they’re a massive criminal network that started in places like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar and has now grown into full-blown international businesses.
They are currently recruiting from over 50 countries, including Nigeria, and building “work stations” that house thousands of workers. Many of these workers are victims of human trafficking, forced to run online scams targeting people around the world.
According to UNODC, these guys are targeting countries with weak laws and high levels of corruption, words that perfectly describe Nigeria.
Why is this a big deal?
CBEX reportedly scammed Nigerians of ₦1.3 trillion. But that isn’t even the worst part. For whatever reason, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registered the company behind the scam on September 25, 2024. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) fell for the scam too because on January 16, its Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering registered the company as well. This shows that Nigeria’s regulatory bodies are probably not as good at their jobs as they say they are.
In December 2024, EFCC arrested 792 suspects, including 148 Chinese and 40 Filipinos, for their involvement in crypto investment and love scams. Like the scam network UNODC described, these suspects operated from a Lagos building that looked like a corporate headquarters for a financial institution, enticing citizens with generous returns on investment. With the rising cost of living, Nigerians are more likely than ever to fall for these scams.
The federal government wasn’t very helpful when Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM) scammed Nigerians of ₦12 billion in 2016; CAC and EFCC’s lack of foresight with CBEX shows that they most likely won’t be helpful if a similar threat appears. This means you have the hard job of protecting yourself from these scam schemes. If it looks too good to be true, it’s probably too good to be true. If the ROI looks more like a giveaway, you have no business putting your money into it without expert research.
Don’t let your money miss road. Nigerians are running out of condolences for scam victims.
Killaboi has been arrested by the Nigerian police again
We’re not the biggest fans of the Nigerian Police Force, but they’ve finally put their energy into something good.
On Sunday, April 20, they confirmed that they’ve successfully extradited Benjamin Nnayereugo, aka “Killaboi”, from Doha, Qatar, back to Nigeria to face trial for the murder of Augusta Oseodion Onuwabhagbe.
If this is your first time reading about this case, Augusta was a 21-year-old first-class student at Lead City University, Ibadan. She was murdered on July 13, 2023, at Killaboi’s house in Ajah, Lagos. After the crime, he escaped from Nigeria and while on the run, he dropped a video "confessing" to the murder, which investigators later said was just a stunt to mislead everyone and slow down the case.
The police eventually declared him wanted in October 2023, and INTERPOL issued a red notice to track him down globally. He was first arrested in Freetown, Sierra Leone, but managed to escape during a prison break in November 2023. From there, he travelled across West Africa, East Asia, and the Middle East, using fake names and passports. By January 2025, he’d landed in Doha under the name “Toure Abdoulaye,” working illegally and hiding behind a forged Guinean passport.
But INTERPOL caught up with him in February 2025 by using biometric data and international coordination to confirm his identity. He was arrested by the Qatari police and extradited to Nigeria on April 19, 2025.
We’re not sure how this case is going to end, but for the sake of Augusta and her family, we hope the Nigerian justice system will not fail us this time.
Your next big read
→How Franca Afegbua Became Nigeria’s First Female Senator: Afegbua was born on October 20, 1943. She was a native of Okpella, a town in Etsako East Local Government (once known as Bendel).
→From Goats to Ropes: Weird Ways Nigerian Politicians “Empower” Citizens: A wise man once said, “If they explain Nigeria to you and you understand, they didn’t explain well” – by the time you read this article to the end, you’ll be able to confirm that no truer words have been spoken in the history of mankind.
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This Week’s Big Question
“You get a get-out-of-jail card, which Nigerian politician are you choosing to replace you?”
Nworie’s response - “All for one. And honestly, every single one of them. Even if you dig deep, it still won’t be enough, but let me pause here before I enter rant mode.”
You can also share your response here, and if it’s as interesting as Nworie’s , we’ll feature it in the next edition.
Take a quiz before you leave
Can You Guess the Nigerian Politician From These Emojis?: Share your results and tag us on social media.
Play catch up
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