No fewer than 42 young men and women were lured with promises of non-existent jobs in South Africa, Malaysia and Ivory Coast, and held hostage in a secret five-bedroom facility in Calabar.
The Nigeria Security
and Civil Defence Corps, Cross River State Command, explained that the victims,
aged between 22 and 36, were rescued on August 14 and 15, 2026, during a
coordinated, intelligence-led raid an “indoctrination and holding camp” run by
a transnational fraud syndicate.
The State NSCDC
Commandant, Okarazu Chima on Tuesday, said the syndicate operated under the
guise of a multi-level networking company and tricked desperate job seekers
into paying millions of naira for “international document and visa processing.”
He said, “Once the
money is paid, the foreign job narrative is instantly abandoned. The victims
are then held, heavily indoctrinated, and forced into an illegal pyramid
scheme.
“They are coerced to
recruit at least two additional victims to have any hope of recovering their
stolen funds.
“The victims were told
they would be selling jewellery, but not a single person interviewed had seen
any physical product.
“It is all a phantom
enterprise built on visual representations on websites and mobile phones”.
The commandant said
operatives also arrested the prime cell leader of the syndicate, Timothy Bayi,
a native of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, on the night of
August 15.
Bayi allegedly linked
the group to a major service compliance and logistics company in Lagos, a claim
the NSCDC said it is currently verifying.
He added said eight of
the 42 persons in custody are foreign nationals found without valid travel
documents.
“We have 28 Nigerian
males, six Nigerian females, five Cameroonians and three Beninoise.
“We are working
closely with the Nigeria Immigration Service to properly profile the
undocumented foreign nationals,” Eke added.
He warned that the
network is highly compartmentalised to shield top bosses, adding, “We will pull
this network up by its roots, no matter how deep or highly placed their
corporate sponsors may be.”
The Commandant
cautioned parents and job-seeking youths against get-rich-quick schemes and
anyone demanding millions for foreign jobs.
Timothy Bayi, the cell
leader said a friend Samuel introduced him into the network marketing business
three years ago.
One of the victims
from Benue State Ogar said a friend offered him a job in the United Kingdom.
“I attended an
interview online and was informed that I was successful in June this year. My
relatives helped me raise over one million which I gave to the firm only to end
up in a room in a secretive five bedroom facility in Calabar”, he said
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