💸 The Harvest of False Promises: Why Nigerians Keep Falling for Ponzi Schemes
By Frank I. Alapa | IDNN Investigative Features | April 17, 2025
🧠 INTRODUCTION: THE MODERN MIRAGE
For a country teetering on the edge of economic fatigue, every whisper of fast returns sounds like salvation.
In March, Bolaoluwa, a Libyan returnee, emptied her savings into CBEX, a cryptocurrency trading platform that promised a 100% return in 30 days. Within three weeks, CBEX vanished. Her money was gone. Her dreams, evaporated.
Across Nigeria, CBEX has become the latest in a long line of Ponzi collapses — a string that includes MMM (2016), MBA Forex, RackSterli, and Chinmark — each capitalizing on a familiar cocktail of desperation, distrust, and the relentless pursuit of financial dignity.
This isn’t just a scam story. It’s an indictment. A wake-up call. A mirror held to a society where get-rich-quick fantasies flourish because long-term prosperity feels like a myth.
📉 THE PERFECT STORM: POVERTY MEETS DIGITAL HYPE
Nigeria’s economy continues to drag millions into precarity. Unemployment among youth exceeds 50%. Inflation erodes wages. The naira plunges. Traditional savings yield barely 5% annually. In this context, platforms promising triple-digit returns in weeks are not anomalies. They are economic mirages too tempting to resist.
“CBEX was my ticket out. The banks weren’t helping. I just needed a break,” said Dele Aina, a civil servant who lost ₦450,000.
CBEX promised legitimacy: a slick app, trading dashboards, even physical offices. It spoke the language of tech — AI signals, crypto assets, blockchain security. It spoke the language of urgency.
What it never offered was accountability.
🔄 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BELIEF: TRUST AND TESTIMONIES
Ponzi schemes thrive on social proof. CBEX recruited aggressively through WhatsApp and Telegram channels. Early investors posted screenshots of withdrawals. Influencers shared testimonials. Pastors praised it in pulpits. Neighbours swore by it.
Each new investor became an unwitting recruiter. The more people believed, the harder it became to resist.
“My friend showed me proof. He had withdrawn thrice. Why wouldn’t I trust that?” said Okikiola Abdul, a recent graduate who lost his project funds.
CBEX’s referral bonuses (10% per signup) turned social circles into echo chambers of hype. Before the collapse, few asked questions. After, no one had answers.
⚖️ WHERE WAS THE REGULATOR?
The Investments and Securities Act of 2025 now criminalizes unregistered online trading platforms. But CBEX operated freely for months, allegedly pulling in over ₦1.3 trillion before suspending withdrawals under the guise of “system upgrades.”
There was no CEO. No verified headquarters. And yet, investors flocked to its Lagos and Ibadan branches — until those offices were looted by angry mobs.
“When things collapsed, even the office staff claimed ignorance. No one knew who owned it.”
The SEC, EFCC, and police have yet to announce any arrests. Meanwhile, videos of investors crying flood social media.
📲 DIGITAL TOOLS, ANCIENT TACTICS
Though CBEX leveraged crypto jargon, its strategy was classic Ponzi:
- Unrealistic returns
- Incentivized referrals
- Sudden withdrawal limits
- Fees to “unlock” frozen funds
In the final week, CBEX demanded victims pay $100 to unlock $1,000. Many paid. Then the app reset their balances to zero.
“I invested my Libya hustle. Everything I brought back is gone,” said Bolaoluwa, tearfully recounting her ordeal.
🧠 DEEPER ROOTS: A CULTURE OF URGENT WEALTH
In Nigeria, success is expected to be dramatic. Quiet growth is rarely celebrated. Wealth is paraded. Poverty is shamed.
From prayer houses to social media, the message is clear: prosperity must be public and instant. Ponzi schemes simply adapt this philosophy for digital consumption.
“If you don’t cash out now, you’re wasting time,” a CBEX promoter told followers weeks before the crash.
Until society redefines wealth and reclaims patience, the fertile ground for financial deception remains.
🚨 THE AFTERMATH: NO NAMES, NO REFUNDS
CBEX’s victims gathered at its Lagos office in April. Police intervened. Some attempted to break in. Others collapsed in tears. In Ibadan, the mob looted furniture and electronics.
No executives have come forward. No compensation is in sight.
This is the final insult: investors can’t even identify who took their money.
🌐 FINAL WORD: THE CYCLE CONTINUES
This is not Nigeria’s first Ponzi epidemic. It will not be the last. As long as financial regulation trails innovation, and desperation outweighs caution, the cycle will repeat.
Ponzi schemes thrive in countries where:
- Financial literacy is low,
- Regulation is weak,
- Economic mobility is limited,
- And hope is too costly to wait for.
Until that changes, CBEX will not be the last heartbreak. It’s merely the latest headline.
✍️ EXCERPT
From MMM to CBEX, the names change but the pain remains. Until Nigeria fixes the deeper economic rot, its citizens will continue to fall for digital fraud masked as opportunity. In a nation addicted to shortcuts, CBEX was the latest fix — and the latest fall.
