Suspected members of a transnational fraud syndicate arrested by the Ogun State command of the Nigeria Police Force have claimed that their activities in Nigeria were coordinated by a Malaysian national who operated entirely online.
The suspects said all members of the network worked under the direction of the Malaysian, whom they claimed none of them had met physically.
Naijaonpoint understands that the spokesperson for the command, Oluseyi Babaseyi, had in a statement on Monday said the suspects were arrested in the Agbado area of Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
He said they were allegedly involved in a networking scheme known as “Ignite,” through which foreign nationals were lured into Nigeria with promises of wealth and business opportunities.
According to Babaseyi, the group allegedly recruited victims from several African countries and persuaded them to pay for products that were never delivered.
He said the victims were also encouraged to bring more people into the network, in what police described as a fraudulent scheme disguised as a legitimate business opportunity.
The command also accused members of the syndicate of plotting a fake kidnapping involving a Mauritanian national, Cheikh Mhedy, from whose family they allegedly attempted to obtain 6.5 million CFA Franc.
In a confessional statement on Friday, June 12, one of the leaders of the group, 34-year-old Zadariah Sawadogo from Burkina Faso, said he came to Nigeria in 2023 in search of better opportunities.
He said he was later introduced to the Ignite networking scheme by a friend identified as Sebasien.
Sawadogo claimed that the group received instructions from a Malaysian national who coordinated the scheme through online communication.
“We took orders from Malaysia. Our boss is a Malaysian national, and I have never met him before. We only communicate on the internet. I was born in Burkina Faso, but I grew up in Ivory Coast. When I came to Nigeria, my friend Sebasien told me about Ignite Networking. He said I would make a lot of money from the business, but before I was arrested, I had only received $90,” the PUNCH quoted the suspect as saying.
He explained that participants were expected to recruit new members and purchase products allegedly supplied by the Malaysian-based operator.
“When Sebasien introduced me to Ignite Networking, he told me I would get products from our boss in Malaysia and earn money based on the number of people I referred to the business,” he added.
Sawadogo said he became convinced that the business would be profitable and later persuaded his father to sell a piece of land he had bought in Ivory Coast with the intention of building a house.
He said the proceeds from the sale were sent to him in Nigeria for investment in the scheme.
The suspect, however, lamented that the products he paid for never arrived.
He said, “My father sold the land for 1.6 million CFA Franc and sent the money to me in Nigeria. I rented the apartment where we were arrested for ₦500,000 and used the remaining money to order Ignite products.
“Till the moment we were arrested, my product had not arrived from Malaysia. Our boss kept saying more people needed to pay before the products could be shipped together. I only received $90 as a referral bonus.”
The police also identified 25-year-old Sole Nata as the woman who allegedly lured Mhedy from Mauritania to Nigeria.
Nata admitted that she met Mhedy online and introduced him to the networking scheme after they became lovers.