Police Uncover List of 125 Lagos Traders Marked for Fraud, Kidnapping by Syndicates

No fewer than 125 business owners trading in some of Lagos’ busiest markets have been marked out as potential victims by two suspected fraud syndicates, in what the police have described as a disturbing web of calculated targeting. According to the police, members of the gangs studied successful traders, identified the commodities they dealt in, and devised different schemes to lure them into what appeared to be lucrative business deals. But the operation reportedly went beyond fraud. In some cases, victims were kidnapped and held hostage until their families or associates paid ransom. One such case involved a tyre merchant who, according to the police, was lured to the Aiyetoro-Itele area of Ogun State, where members of one of the syndicates held him captive and collected about N24 million in ransom before releasing him.

The development came to light following the arrest of seven suspected members of two fraud syndicates by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Lagos State Police Command, headed by CSP Sunday Cirman. The breakthrough reportedly came when one of the gangs lured a cloth seller to Ayobo, Lagos, apparently unaware that the police were already closing in. Three members of the gang were arrested in the ensuing operation, leading investigators to uncover a list containing the names of more than 125 business operators lined up for similar schemes. The suspects reportedly described themselves as “local 419” , a Nigerian slang for fraudsters who obtain money or property through deception. A police source said: “The two groups use different tactics but their mode of operation is that they target prospective investors or traders but ended up defrauding them in the process.”

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One of the suspects, 61-year-old Patrick Nwankwo, said the journey into the fraud business began, by his account, with a failed business, the death of his wife and the struggle to survive afterwards. He said: “I was into second hand cloth selling at the popular Katangua Market. At a time, the business failed and at that time, I lost my wife. I used the small money that was remaining with me to bury my late wife. I started as a ‘Caller’. A caller is a person who goes out to identify and speak with our prospective victims. We identify businessmen. After this, we lied to them that someone was in need of large supply of any particular commodity and for them to supply. We usually use bicycle spare parts as the needed commodity. Another member of the gang will serve as the receiver. Once they supplied those items to him, we will disappear from that address. Our base is in Ogun State but we target businessmen at popular markets, including Oshodi, Arena, Idumota, Alaba and Trade Fair markets. We already have our targets and what they sell. We don’t pray for gullible people to finish. Gullible people cannot finish in Nigeria. They want to get very rich quick and we take advantage of that.”

Sixty-year-old Emeka Obi also said he became involved after falling victim to another gang. According to him: “After serving my boss for six years and I had my own shop, somebody told me that they had drugs in large quantity but, when I got to where I was to get the drugs, I saw large quantity of American dollar. I didn’t know that they were fake. I was asked to deposit the N400,000 that was with me. That was a large money then in 1990. Initially, after collecting my money, they ran away but after they came back, I asked to join them and since then I have made more than the N400,000 that I lost to them. I used to be a caller but now I am old. I only allow them to use my office for their operations and I get only ten percent of whatever they get from their victims.”

Another suspect, 47-year-old Charles Okeke, a shoemaker in Aba, Abia State, said the journey followed a failed attempt to travel abroad. He said: “I joined the syndicate in 2018, when I was duped, while trying to travel out. One Mr Eze took me to Ghana. He promised to take me to Europe or America but abandoned me in Ghana. I started looking for something to do. I met some Nigerians there. I was into shoe making but the money was nothing to write home about. I met a boy, Chukwudi and a Ghanaian, Jojome. They invited me to join them and we duped people, under the guise of washing money for them. They lured people with gold. Later my mother died and I had to come back to Nigeria for her burial. When my family saw my situation, they advised that I should not return to Ghana. They said that I was not doing well. Because of hardship, my wife left with my two children. It was while I was looking for what to do that I met Emeka, through one of our town brothers, who was also into the fraud business but had quit.”

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Fifty-three-year-old Emmanuel Ekenta, an indigene of Awka, Anambra State, said he was once a successful businessman exporting plates to Ghana. “I was exporting plates to Ghana then and I was doing well. Problem started, when I was duped at the Togo border. Ghana people and some Nigerians duped me. They lied to me that they wanted to wash dollar for me in 2006. After I was duped, I requested to join them and they directed me to their boss in Lagos. He is the one who taught me how to dupe and I worked with him for six years,” he stated. Ekenta also described the roles played by different members of the group. He explained: “What we do is that one of us, usually the catcher, will pose as a sailor and a foreigner, who just arrived Lagos with goods for sale. We would then tell our prospective victim that he would make huge money by selling these non existent goods. After agreeing to sell the goods, the catcher will pretend to take them to the place, where the goods are kept but instead take them to our base, where we introduce them to dollar washing business. It is the normal thing of telling them that we have dollar but we need chemical to wash it. They will be asked to pay for the chemical. That is how we collect money from them. There is also usually the ‘sitter’, who sits at our base. He would corroborate whatever the ‘catcher’ already told the victims. He would lie to them. He would pretend to be the younger brother of the Customs officer that cleared the goods.”

Another suspect, 46-year-old Uchenna Paul, a former foodstuffs seller, said he joined the group after being duped of his master’s money while on a trip from Abia State to Lagos to buy stockfish. For the more than 125 business operators identified as potential targets, the arrests may have disrupted a carefully planned operation. Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi, said the development reaffirmed Commissioner of Police, CP Fatai Tijani’s determination to make the state uninhabitable for criminals. She assured residents that the police would continue to intensify efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating across the state. According to the police, the arrests have provided investigators with further information on the activities of the syndicates, including their methods of identifying potential victims and the roles allegedly played by different members of the groups. Investigations are ongoing.

Police Uncover List of 125 Lagos Traders Marked for Fraud, Kidnapping by Syndicates

Six Nigerians Extradited to US Over $6m Romance Scam

Six Nigerian nationals accused of operating a sophisticated online romance scam that defrauded more than 100 American women of approximately $6 million (over N8 billion) have been extradited from South Africa to the United States to face trial. The suspects, arrested in Cape Town in 2021, are believed to be members of Black Axe, a notorious Nigerian organised crime syndicate linked to internet fraud, human trafficking and murder. They were handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service at Cape Town International Airport on Friday. The extradition coincides with a significant diplomatic escalation between Nigeria and South Africa, as Nigeria’s National Assembly announced the suspension of all official visits to South Africa over recurring xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African nationals.

South Africa’s elite Hawks police unit confirmed that the six suspects were transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to the airport, where they were formally transferred to US custody. Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the men were wanted by US authorities on charges including wire fraud and money laundering. Upon arrival in the United States, they are expected to face federal indictments. The suspects allegedly targeted pensioners and businesspeople through “sophisticated online relationships used to defraud them of their money,” according to the Hawks. The total losses exceeded 100 million rand, equivalent to approximately $6 million or £5 million.

According to the US Justice Department, members of the group used social media websites, online dating platforms, and internet-based phone calls to identify and communicate with victims in the United States while operating under numerous aliases. A common narrative involved a purported online love interest travelling to Cape Town to work on a construction project. The victim would then be told that this person had been mugged and needed a phone and other electronic devices sent to South Africa. Victims were also persuaded to provide loans for purported crane repairs, legal fees from an accident at the site, or foreign taxes to release a larger sum of money owed to them. The group allegedly also used victims’ bank accounts and US-based financial accounts to transfer money to South Africa. In some cases, victims were convinced to open financial accounts in the US that the alleged conspirators were then permitted to use themselves.

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Black Axe began as a Nigerian student fraternity in the late 1970s called the Neo Black Movement of Africa. It has since evolved into a structured, violent criminal organisation frequently engaged in financial cybercrime. A BBC Eye investigation in 2021 described the syndicate as one of the most far-reaching and dangerous organised crime groups in the world. Nigeria remains its main recruitment ground, and many members are university-educated and inducted during their schooling. The FBI launched operations against Black Axe in November 2019 and September 2021, leading to charges against more than 35 individuals over alleged multimillion-dollar internet fraud. In 2021, the US Justice Department announced federal charges against eight men allegedly linked to the group, including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Interpol has coordinated multiple operations targeting the network. In its most recent operation, conducted between November 2025 and June 2026, seven locations in South Africa linked to a syndicate involved in romance and investment scams were raided. The operation led to 39 arrests, the seizure of money, and the blocking of more than 250 bank accounts.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s National Assembly has resolved to suspend all official visits to South Africa and boycott South African-hosted or organised legislative activities until further notice. The decision, announced in a statement signed by Clerk to the National Assembly Kamoru Ogunlana, followed consultations between the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The National Assembly expressed “grave concern over the continuing reports of xenophobic attacks, violence, intimidation, destruction of property and other forms of hostility directed at Nigerians and other African nationals resident in the Republic of South Africa.” The leadership noted that despite repeated appeals by the Federal Government of Nigeria and other stakeholders to South African authorities, reports of such incidents had persisted.

The suspension covers all official visits to South Africa by the National Assembly, its committees, lawmakers, officials and staff, as well as participation in conferences, seminars, workshops, parliamentary meetings and legislative exchanges organised or hosted by South African legislative authorities. It also includes both physical and virtual participation in South African-hosted legislative programmes. The National Assembly emphasised that the decision was not intended to undermine longstanding diplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africa, but rather constituted “a strong expression of concern over the safety, dignity and welfare of Nigerians living and conducting legitimate businesses in South Africa.” It called on the South African government to take “urgent and concrete measures” to protect Nigerians and other African nationals, prevent further xenophobic attacks, investigate reported incidents thoroughly, arrest suspected perpetrators and ensure those found culpable are prosecuted.

Nigerian officials have said at least 98 Nigerians have been killed in mob attacks and hate-related incidents in South Africa since 2022. This year alone, 1,695 Nigerians have been voluntarily evacuated amid xenophobia-related tensions, according to Nigeria’s Acting High Commissioner in Pretoria. South African authorities have reported that more than 86,000 African migrants have been repatriated in recent months due to xenophobic violence, though figures released by migrants’ home countries put the total at approximately 178,000. Nigeria has evacuated 1,490 nationals through government-supported flights. The tensions are a recurring feature of Nigeria-South Africa relations, with major outbreaks occurring in 2008, 2015 and 2019. The worst episode in recent memory occurred in 2008, when more than 60 people lost their lives. In July, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola led a delegation to Abuja for talks aimed at easing tensions, saying the South African government condemned “all forms of xenophobia.”

Six Nigerians Extradited to US Over $6m Romance Scam