You will do jail o

CBEX might be getting what it deserves soon

Apr 25, 2025

Happy Salary Day to all who celebrate! I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely celebrating. I hope you have the best weekend!

- Margaret

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Reading time ~ 5 mins

Let’s get into today’s edition:

CBEX might be getting what it deserves soon
Niger state governor wants to ban dreadlocks

The Big Deal

CBEX might be getting what it deserves soon

The Federal High Court just hit six people who promoted the fraudulent Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) with the “You’ll do jail” card.

It’s been one week since CBEX was exposed as a Ponzi scheme, but you’ll certainly hear that name more often in the coming weeks because the matter is now in court.

On Thursday, April 24, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja approved a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest and detain six people allegedly behind CBEX. According to the Commission, these six ran a crypto scam that took over $1 billion from Nigerians, using a company called ST Technologies to market CBEX with promises of unrealistic returns.

Even though the defendants haven’t been caught yet, EFCC is doing everything it can to arrest them. They’re working with Interpol and other international bodies to recover the money and bring the culprits in. The suspects reportedly convinced Nigerians to convert their crypto to dollars and deposit it into wallets controlled. But as soon as they had over a billion dollars in the bag, the CBEX platform vanished, along with people’s money.

The EFCC says it might take a while to investigate the operation, especially since the money was never kept in any Nigerian bank.

At the court hearing, the EFCC’s lawyer stressed that the CBEX scam was not only local but also involved foreign collaborators and a sophisticated fraud network. After going through all the receipts, Justice Nwite granted EFCC an arrest warrant for the CBEX guys.

Why is this a big deal?

The CBEX scam affected over 600,000 Nigerians, so this is a pretty big deal. Their victims are not just a few unlucky people on Telegram; they swindled thousands of Nigerians who handed over their hard-earned money because they were promised a shortcut to financial freedom.

In 2016, the same bad movie played out when Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM) scammed Nigerians of ₦12 billion. Not many people can say they got their money back from MMM, but there is a tiny chance that CBEX isn’t going to get away with its scam so easily this time. The EFCC might not exactly be the best “get shit done” crime agency but this time, it seems to be putting it’s best foot forward.

That’s why this court action matters. When scammers get away with large-scale fraud like this, it tells the next fraudster that Nigeria is the right market where they can get away with billions and face zero consequences.

With Interpol involved and an arrest warrant already secured, there’s hope that we might not be watching a rerun of the usual hit-and-run mess. If they pull this off, it could set a precedent that even the smartest scammers are not above the law.

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Niger state governor wants to ban dreadlocks

Nigerian politicians are really the final bosses of never letting anyone know their next move. When you think you’ve seen the worst — boom— the actual worst arrives.

In a bid to control the rising crime and restlessness in Niger state, Governor Umaru Bago has signed an Executive Order that’s supposed to target thugs, drug peddlers, and basically anyone that looks like trouble.

A ban on dreadlocks is one of the changes coming with the Executive Order. The governor says dreadlocks are now cancelled because they are associated with gangs. This means that anyone seen with them could be arrested and their head shaved on the spot. That part has raised a few eyebrows, with people online asking how we jumped from fighting crime to policing hairstyles.

He’s also governing how okadas and kekes will work from now on by restricting their service to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Governor Bago additionally put out a quick PSA, telling anyone who cares to hear that no weapon will be tolerated in his state, be it a stick, knife, or anything that remotely resembles them.

Here’s another interesting cherry on top: If anyone is caught trying to bail out known thugs, they’ll be arrested too. Even traditional rulers caught shielding criminals will be dethroned immediately. There’s even a special court in the works to ensure these kinds of cases move fast.

Bago’s intention might be pure, but the ban on dreadlocks could expose the youths in his state to unnecessary profiling and harassment. If #EndSARS taught us anything, this sort of thing never ends well for the average citizen.

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