- Police, Amotekun take over as angry depositors loot office
The digital investment platform, CBEX, has allegedly collapsed, with reports indicating losses amounting to over N1.3 trillion incurred by investors.
Consequently, many Nigerians were left in shock, disbelief and tears.
It was gathered on Tuesday that the platform became inaccessible after users experienced persistent withdrawal failures, followed by sudden account balance wipes.
The incident has sparked widespread reactions, particularly on social media, where users have expressed frustration, criticism, and concern over the situation.
A group of angry individuals stormed the CBEX office located in the Oke Ado area of Ibadan, Oyo State, looting furniture and other items after the digital trading platform reportedly crashed.
Witnesses said the mob forcibly entered the premises, carting away tables, couches, and other office equipment.
The attack is believed to have been triggered by the sudden collapse of the platform, which allegedly left many users with zero balance in their accounts.
Following the incident, several users expressed frustration and grief over the loss of their investments, with some taking to social media to share their experiences.
The platform claimed to use artificial intelligence for trading, but experts and victims revealed that the trading activity and profits displayed were suspicious.
Users faced a 40–45 day lock-in period before withdrawals, with penalties for early withdrawal.
In April 2025, withdrawals were suspended entirely, and many users saw their account balances drop to zero.
Like most Ponzi schemes, CBEX enticed users with high returns, engineered proof of physical offices, and local officers who claimed they worked with the company’s head office in China, only that this was false, and this was a shell venture with no real backing whatsoever.
Weeks ago, many who invested in the scheme advertised their newly-found pathway to ‘financial freedom’ on social media with screenshots of account balances from $1,000, $10,000, and $85,000.
As of Tuesday morning, their accounts have been blanked, with no access to funds except they comply with a new directive to deposit more funds to withdraw from their accounts.
The reality is harsh in disbelief and tears.
“The small amount I made in Libya was invested in it. I was made to believe I would make twice that amount from the scheme,” a lady named Bolarinwa said, sobbing uncontrollably.
The Libya returnee disclosed that a large part of her deposit in CBEX was a loan from friends who are expecting a refund.
The location where Bolarinwa spoke was one of the offices of CBEX in the Oke-Ado area of Ibadan, Oyo State which was looted by an angry mob.
A trending video on social media showed people carting away furniture and other items from the office after officials failed to speak with CBEX officials.
“They said we should still wait so that they can attend to us,” Borinwa said amid tears.
Another victim of the scheme on X said he invested in CBEX “all in the name of making enough money to push my unreleased song, Alhamdulillah.”
The singer said he woke up “today and discovered that all my $4000 is gone. At this point, I am lost.”
Recently, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission warned Nigerians against depositing funds with fraudulent and unauthorized digital platforms for unrealistic returns.
Amid lamentations, CBEX administrators said on Tuesday afternoon that investors can still withdraw their funds if they follow a procedure that will see them invest more in the same scheme.
A video on CBEX community explained the procedure in Pidgin English.
“If you have below $8,000 in your CBEX account, you have to pay $100 to withdraw your money. If you have above $8,000, then you will have to pay $200 to withdraw it,” a male voice said in the video.
Meanwhile, a member of the community warned other users that the procedure was a new twist in the scam.
He wondered why the administrators would require new deposits of at least $100 to withdraw from the initial balance.
“If you fall for the new scam with the hope of getting your investment, don’t be surprised that they will come up with a new idea to milk you further without you achieving your aim,” he said.
“Accept your loss and move on. CBEX is gone, it has crashed and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
In a virtual session on April 14, 2025, with fintech stakeholders, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission issued a firm warning to Nigerians regarding Ponzi schemes, without explicitly naming CBEX.
SEC Director, General Emomotimi Agama warned that, “Recently, a particular platform has gained attention online, with numerous posts going viral regarding its activities. Subsequently, there have been reports suggesting its shutdown. I want to make this absolutely clear—if a platform is not registered with the SEC, it is illegal.”
The CBEX scandal represents the latest chapter in Nigeria’s long and painful history with Ponzi schemes.
From early “wonder banks” in the 1980s and 1990s like Umana-Umana, Planwell, and Nospecto, to the devastating MMM collapse of 2016-2017 that affected over three million Nigerians; these fraudulent schemes have consistently exploited economic vulnerabilities.
By 2022, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation estimated that Nigerians lost N911.45 billion to Ponzi schemes over 23 years, with ₦300 billion lost in just the five years following MMM’s collapse.
Other notable schemes defrauded Nigerians include Twinkas, Ultimate Cycler, Get Help Worldwide, Loom, Racksterli, and MBA Forex, which swindled investors of ₦213 billion between 2018 and 2021.
Police, Amotekun take over CBEX office in Oyo
Meanwhile, members of the Nigeria Police and Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun, took over the CBEX office at Oke-Ado in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday.
This action followed the invasion of the online financial platform by some customers on Monday evening, allegedly over the loss of investments running into millions of naira.
Journalists, who visited the area on Tuesday, observed that patrol vehicles belonging to both the police and Amotekun were strategically stationed in the area.
Witnesses said that, “The crash of the online platform was announced yesterday (Monday). That’s what prompted many of those who invested in the scheme to storm the office to express their displeasure.
“As you can see, some security agents have been stationed at the office in order to prevent breakdown of law and order.”
