Cross River State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has rescued 42 persons and arrested suspected members of an alleged transnational criminal syndicate accused of deceiving unsuspecting job seekers with fake overseas employment offers.
The suspects were reportedly operating under the cover of a multi-level marketing business in Calabar.
Speaking while parading the rescued victims and suspects at the command headquarters along Murtala Mohammed Highway, Calabar, the State Commandant, CC Okarazu Chima Eke, said the operation followed a successful intelligence-led investigation carried out between August 14 and 15.
According to Eke, operatives from the command’s Intelligence Department traced the syndicate to a five-bedroom apartment allegedly being used as a holding and indoctrination centre.
He disclosed that those rescued, aged between 22 and 36, included 28 Nigerian men, six Nigerian women, five Cameroonian nationals and three citizens of the Benin Republic.
The commandant alleged that the syndicate targeted young Nigerians and other nationals with promises of lucrative jobs in countries such as South Africa, Malaysia and Côte d’Ivoire, demanding millions of naira for visa processing and other travel documentation.
CC Okarazu Chima Eke said, “The level of deceit employed by this syndicate is alarming.”
He alleged that after victims made the requested payments, the promised overseas jobs never materialised. Instead, some of them were allegedly introduced to what he described as an illegal pyramid-style marketing scheme.
According to him, participants were required to recruit at least two additional persons before they could recover the money they had invested. He added that products allegedly referred to as “biodics and jewellery” were reportedly never seen physically by some of the victims interviewed by investigators.
Eke further revealed that the eight foreign nationals found at the facility were allegedly without valid international travel documents. He said the command was working with the Nigeria Immigration Service to verify their identities and immigration status.
The NSCDC boss also announced the arrest of the alleged leader of the cell, identified as Timothy Bayi, an indigene of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.
He stated that Bayi claimed to be affiliated with a major service compliance and logistics company headquartered in Lagos, but stressed that the claim was still being investigated.
He also said, “We are currently verifying the nature and extent of this claim.”
Eke noted that investigators would broaden the probe to uncover other individuals who might be linked to the alleged network, regardless of their positions.
He warned job seekers and parents to be wary of unverified foreign employment opportunities, get-rich-quick schemes and recruitment arrangements that demand huge payments before employment or international travel.
“There is no shortcut to wealth.” Commander Eke warned.
He assured that the NSCDC would continue collaborating with relevant security and law enforcement agencies and that anyone found culpable would be prosecuted upon the conclusion of investigations.
Responding to the allegations, Bayi denied that the company he claimed to represent offered employment opportunities abroad. He said he joined the business about two years ago after being introduced to it by a friend.
The suspected syndicate, Timothy Bayi alleged that, “The company does not promise anybody to travel abroad. The company doesn’t issue a travel document or promise any job abroad.”
He explained that the business focused on online product marketing and commission-based earnings, insisting that recruiting people with promises of overseas employment was not part of the company’s operations.
One of the rescued victims, Ogama, from Benue State, however, narrated a different experience.
He said he was persuaded by a friend who promised him employment in the United Kingdom. According to him, he later participated in a WhatsApp interview and was informed that he had successfully passed the process.
Ogama disclosed that his family raised about N1 million for the supposed travel documentation, but the promised trip never took place.
Ogama lamented that, “After paying the money, they took us to the ground and made me understand that I was no more travelling to the UK.”
He said he remained at the facility because he had no money to return home after the funds contributed by his relatives had been exhausted.
Another rescued victim, Hamlet Ndiame, a Cameroonian national, said he initially believed he was joining a legitimate network-marketing business after being introduced by a friend.
Hamlet Ndiame stated that, “The business is real, but the way they are doing it to bring people into the business is not the way they promised initially.”
Ndiame said he conducted his own online research about the organisation and identified it as QNET, but remained concerned about the recruitment methods allegedly employed by some of those bringing new members into the business.
The NSCDC said investigations are ongoing to determine the roles played by those in custody and establish whether additional individuals or organisations were involved in the alleged foreign job scam network.
