The Ondo State Police have rescued 20 victims who were held hostage by a Ponzi scheme syndicate in the Oba-Ile area of Akure North Local Government. The victims were lured into a fraudulent investment program called ‘Quest International Company’, where they were promised high returns but ended up trapped and unable to contact their families.
The operation, led by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Wilfred Afolabi, followed a months-long investigation after families from Osun and Oyo states reported their children missing. The victims had disappeared in November 2024 after being invited to a job opportunity in Akure, which later turned out to be a scam.
Afolabi confirmed that the police identified one of the suspects, Sadiq Zakariya, 26, as the ringleader of the operation. Zakariya was arrested after police traced the victims to their hiding place in Ondo. According to the police, the victims were forced to pay N1.5 million each to join the scheme, with the condition that they recruit two others to be eligible. After joining, they were cut off from communication with their families.
The police commissioner explained that the suspects falsely promised the victims that the money would be used for “chi-pendants, bio-discs, and accommodation.” The suspects have been apprehended, and the investigation is ongoing. Efforts are underway to reunite the victims with their families.
This bust comes weeks after the collapse of another fraudulent investment scheme in the state, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), highlighting the ongoing challenge of online scams and Ponzi schemes in Nigeria.
