Onoja Baba
In a country where joblessness stalks millions, the dream of landing a foreign-based, dollar-paying job is all it takes to trap desperate Nigerian youths. Beneath glossy offers of “international career opportunities,” scam syndicates now operate freely, impersonating reputable foreign firms and luring young people into fake training centres camouflaged as football academies, business institutes, or global multilevel marketing firms.
CBex International is one such platform. Promoted as a business exchange platform with ties to international wealth-building and investment portfolios, CBex has been linked to schemes where victims are promised instant success, only to be defrauded of millions. Yet, this is just one name in a long chain. Another, more dangerous and deceptive operation now ravaging Nigerian cities is QNet — or more precisely, the Nigerian impersonators who use its name for illicit gains.
Joseph was one of them.
On the streets of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Joseph was struggling to survive. But a chance encounter with a woman named Deborah would change his fate—or so he thought. She promised him a life-changing opportunity in Suleja, Niger State. She said it was through a reputable international company called “Qi.”
Two days after arriving in Suleja, Joseph contacted one of the reporters from SecretsReporters, pleading for assistance. He wanted the reporter, whom he had known from Akwa Ibom but who was now based in Abuja, to help him with money to secure what he described as a life-changing job offer.
When the reporter asked Joseph how he found the job and the company’s name, Joseph confidently said it was called “Qi,” explaining that a trusted lady named Deborah had recommended him. According to Joseph, Deborah herself had been introduced into the system by her uncle, who was said to be working with the Ghana branch of the company.
Joseph pleaded with the reporter, saying he was even willing to borrow money to grab the employment opportunity, and begged the reporter to help facilitate a loan for him.
Joseph stated that the company promised to pay him a monthly salary of $250, but insisted that he must first pay for some documentation before receiving his official employment letter.
Growing curious, the reporter asked Joseph for further clarification about the documentation fees and offered to visit him physically at the Suleja office of the company.
Joseph agreed to the visit and urged the reporter to check online to verify the company’s authenticity. Joseph was so confident in the company’s legitimacy that he disclosed he had already paid ₦100,000 for accommodation and was required to pay an additional ₦1,100,000 for processing the necessary documents.
Joseph explained that he had been employed as an “aide-giver” or “aider” to assist footballers under the company’s football academy. He said he was expected to travel internationally with the footballers and that certain documents had to be processed for this, costing a total of ₦1,200,000.
The documents Joseph said he needed to pay for included a National Identity Number (NIN), an international passport, an Electronic Web Dollar Account, Tracking Centre registration, an HN number, and an International Permit.
The reporter immediately went online to search for the company’s presence. Among the results was a Nairaland thread filled with numerous testimonies, all pointing to the organization being a scam.
Armed with suspicion, the reporter and a colleague set out to investigate, traveling from Abuja city through Zuba to Dikko Junction and finally arriving at Maje, all located within Niger State — not Abuja, as Joseph had been made to believe.
Upon arrival at the so-called company premises located at Zamfara Street, opposite the White Mosque in Maje, the reporters were greeted by a man who identified himself as a Christian from Cameroon. They then met with Deborah, who introduced them to a young man claiming to be Prince Godday, the “Coach” of the football academy.
The self-acclaimed coach took the reporters to a room resembling a classroom and tried to explain the operations of the organization. He even showed them a coaching ID card to bolster his credibility.
He revealed that the company runs Infinite City Football Club, which maintains an Instagram page claiming partnerships with Manchester City and QNet.
At that moment, the reporters pieced together that “Qi” was connected to QNet, a well-known name in dubious business dealings.
Upon carefully reading the company’s website, it was discovered that QNet is a subsidiary of Qi. However, discrepancies emerged: official records showed that QNet was registered in the United Kingdom at 129 Beacon Street, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 7BG under company number 09721355 — a stark contrast to the website’s claim of having its headquarters in Hong Kong.
While Qi and QNet might exist as legal entities abroad, the job opportunity scheme and the requirement for exorbitant payments in Nigeria — particularly in Abuja and Niger State — turned out to be nothing but a sophisticated Ponzi scam.
Inside the premises, the reporters observed the tense body language of people milling around, many dressed in what appeared to be training uniforms.
Their operations bore a striking resemblance to prior incidents where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested individuals linked to QNet in Niger State. In one case, the EFCC’s Kaduna Zonal Directorate arrested 28 people operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Minna, linked to QNet. Similarly, on March 24, 2025, EFCC operatives busted another QNet Ponzi Academy in Abuja’s Gwagwalada area, arresting 133 suspects.
Those suspects had been enrolled in a so-called “Special Training for New Generation Billionaires” where they were brainwashed with slogans like “I’m a Champion,” “I’m Unstoppable,” and “I’m Infinity,” after purchasing an Independent Representative Application Form.
The EFCC carried out that raid in collaboration with the Nigerian Army’s 176 Guards Battalion.
SecretsReporters discovered that Joseph had, sadly, fallen victim to the same vicious job scam that has ensnared countless desperate Nigerian youths.
Further evidence came when one of the reporters pretended to be interested in enrolling in their “school,” only to be encouraged to pursue a “Master’s degree” by Coach Godday, whose real name, according to TrueCaller, is Njoku Godday Chus. Godday absurdly claimed that a first degree wasn’t necessary and that Nigerian degrees were invalid even across African countries, except for their so-called “internationally recognized” Master’s program.
Pushing further, the reporters demanded proof. Godday provided the name “Swizz Management Center” as their Master’s school, and when shown a random website link matching that name, he hastily agreed but sternly warned against paying via the website. Instead, he insisted that payments be made through Nigerian channels.
According to Godday, the Business Administration, which the reporter claimed he was interested in, would cost $970. According to Coinveto, $970 is equivalent to approximately ₦1,555,346.50, using an exchange rate of $1 = ₦1,603.45.
Godday and Deborah provided an account number — 0055403608 — with the account names NDIDI SOLOMON ANYANWU and RICHARD AZUKA ONYENWENU at Stanbic Bank, as the account into which Joseph’s documentation fees and the reporter’s supposed tuition fees should be paid.
Despite initially claiming that payments would only go to a corporate account, they were quick to revert to personal accounts when challenged.
SecretsReporters contacted QNet via its customer service line, inquiring if the organization has a football club and a group operating in Maje, Suleja. A QNet representative informed SecretsReporters that it has no link with any organization operating in Suleja and that it does not ask job seekers to pay money for any employment documentation or ticket.
It was discovered that the Ponzi groups operating within Abuja and Niger State using the names Qi and QNet are imposters and scammers.
Today, Joseph remains stuck in Suleja with his friend and dozens of others from his village. They still believe they’re on the path to international football careers and foreign jobs.
But the truth is brutal. They are victims of a Ponzi scheme disguised as an opportunity. And as Nigeria’s unemployment crisis deepens, the number of victims may only grow.