It was only months ago that Penka Michel escaped from a ruthless gang operating in the Agbado area of Lagos, South West Nigeria. As he began to give an account of his experience as a victim of human trafficking from Cameroon, it was evident in his voice that he was still traumatised. 

Sometime last year, a friend from secondary school, Nke Krouma Perfect, reached out to him about a job opportunity in Nigeria. As the eldest child in a family of eight with the dream of rescuing his siblings from poverty, the 23-year-old sophomore at the University of Yaoundé was eager to know more about the offer.

Perfect said on the phone that he had worked with a multinational company called United Mining Supply (UMS) in Lagos, which was recruiting new staff.

When Michel reminded his friend that his academic programme would be affected if he accepted the offer, Perfect insisted that he should send his curriculum vitae so that he could propose it to the company’s human resources.

“He reached out two days later to tell me I could continue my studies in Nigeria. He told me the company would allow me to do a part-time course in Nigeria and made me understand that he already earned a good living, having worked for six months already,” he explained.

Perfect sent Michel a fake UMS job offer in October 2023, stating that he had been offered the role of a computer specialist and would be paid ₦380,600 ($229) monthly. 

“You’ll be entitled to a mini-training if required. In addition, your accommodation, feeding and healthcare services will be provided by the company for a period of 12 months from the date of signature of your contract. You will be based in Nigeria, specifically in Lagos. If you agree, you will start work on 8 November 2023 at our premises in Lagos.

“In order to make all the necessary arrangements to integrate you into our team before this date, we ask you to reply to this employment proposal before November 6, 2023,” part of the letter written in French read.

After getting the letter, Michel ran to his parents to inform them about his latest ‘achievement’ and the need to travel to Nigeria to resume work.

Extortion

When he accepted the offer, Michel was sent another letter stating that all new employees would have to make a deposit of 700,000 CFA ($1,159) to enable them to sign their contract. 

“This amount includes 280,000 CFA refundable after three effective months of service (in case you show discipline and good attitude), 420,000 CFA retained for the establishment of all the papers that will allow you to move freely in all the West African countries where the company may assign you. These documents are: a residence card, a bank account, a passport (NIN), and health insurance,” the second letter read.

When Michel told his parents about this, his father sold his plot of land and also took loans from friends and extended relatives to raise 900,000 CFA (including the cost of transportation to Nigeria). While he didn’t take all the money along when he left Cameroon on Nov. 8, 2023, because of fear of robbery and other unforeseen events, his father promised to transfer the requested fee to his employers once he got to Lagos. 

He told HumAngle he spent four days on the road daydreaming about how he would return to Cameroon in a few months with many achievements.

“I left Yaoundé with a lot of confidence and hope, having promised my parents that I would make them proud and succeed. They gave me their blessings and advised me to remain a good role model to my siblings,” he said.

“Perfect explained the routes to follow from Northern Cameroon to Northern Nigeria and from there to Lagos. I left very early on Nov. 8 and arrived in Lagos on Nov. 12, 2023.”

Forced scamming

Through Perfect’s guidance, Michel reached the Agege area, and from there, he was taken to the Agbado crossing, a border community between Lagos and Ogun state. 

He was lodged in a decrepit guest house, where he learned that he would need to call his family in Cameroon to send the requested 700,000 CFA for proper contract documentation so the acclaimed job slot would not be given to another person. Two days later, Michel’s parents sent the money, and he was subsequently checked out of the hotel. 

“I was taken to their office at Obe Junction in Agbado, where I met many Cameroonians. Still, I didn’t suspect anything until my friend came and told me I would have to work for QNET as an agent. They told me I would be receiving a huge percentage as soon as I resumed work fully. They made me understand that UMS is a partner of QNET.

“Though I protested because I couldn’t accept that I had been fooled, the gate was already locked, and there were two hefty guards stationed there who were ready to deal with anyone who failed to cooperate with them. In fact, I went into physical combat with Perfect, but he overpowered me because his colleagues supported him.”

What’s QNET?

Also known as Quest International Company, QNET is a direct-selling company that offers a wide range of premium health, wellness, and lifestyle products and services through its e-commerce platform. According to details on its website, the company offers its products through its e-commerce portal to retail consumers and distributors — known as Independent Representatives (IRs) — who promote the product to others to earn commissions on successful product sales.

In September 2023, 41 Ghanaians were convicted in Lagos for defrauding people under the guise of providing them jobs at QNET. The convicts were also victims of job trafficking agents who housed them in a secret place and forced them to lure other Ghanaians into Nigeria. 

In February, the Ogun State Police Command apprehended some immigrants from Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire who claimed to be independent representatives of QNET without valid travel documents. The Nigerian Immigration Service deported them along with 18 Cameroonians arrested in Makurdi, Benue state. 

While QNET has denied involvement in fake job offers and investment scams on several occasions, checks online show that the company has been accused of being a Ponzi scheme in countries like Egypt, Guinea, India, Lebanon, Mali, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. In fact, its founder, Vijay Eswaran, has been enmeshed in several scandals in different countries.

HumAngle’s findings also show that Qi Group, QNET’s parent company, is not registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). When contacted for clarification, Biram Fall, QNET’s Regional General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, did not respond to our enquiries via email, call, or WhatsApp.

Despite repeated denials and warnings, many individuals continue to be victims of the organised criminal gang deceiving hundreds of people into Nigeria with job offers.

We have shared our findings with the Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Ben Hundeyin and the spokesperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale. However, they are yet to respond to our enquiries about steps in place to address the illegal practices.

‘Hellish experience’

After forcefully signing the acclaimed QNET contract, Michel was taken to an abandoned school building where many other victims were held hostage. 

“It’s a large house with a large fence. They asked us to call people and lobby them for a job offer. They locked people in different rooms to call friends and family in Cameroon to come and work in Nigeria. If you refuse, you are threatened and abused. I saw more than 50 people locked together with me in the same compound.

“There were more boys in the compound as the fraudsters hung marker boards on the wall, teaching victims how to convince more people from their countries. They told us that’s the only way to make back the money they dubiously collected from us,” Michel recalled.

Frustrated by the development, Michel broke the news of his predicament to his father, who sent him the contact information of Anyanwu Alexander, a relative residing in Lagos.

On Nov. 15, 2023, he sent his location to Alexander, who arrived very early to rescue him from the fraudsters.

“When Michel called to inform me he was lured to Lagos by a criminal gang, I made the necessary arrangements to locate him,” said Alexander. “On getting there, I found out that the stuff is an international human trafficking Ponzi scheme with a lot of victims. I had to threaten them with the police before I was able to rescue him from their den.”

Three days later, Alexander paid for his transportation back to Cameroon.

Same trick, different victim

Unlike Michel, Zambo Paul* was quick enough to realise that he was being duped, so he didn’t lose much money. But he’s still pained about the horrible experience.

His father’s death had placed a heavy burden on his mother and forced him and his three siblings to quit schooling. As a young man with football talent, he joined a soccer academy and was hopeful that one day, he would improve the lives of his family members like Samuel Eto’o and other great players from Cameroon.

When his family’s situation did not seem to improve, Paul spoke with a former teammate, Michel Essengue, who claimed to have left football for a ‘greater thing’ in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub.

“My friend advised me to leave Cameroon and try visiting Nigeria, where he claimed to be a ‘big man’ as a storekeeper at Ikeja City Mall. When I asked for the procedure for employment, he told me that his uncle worked there as a senior staff member, and he would speak with him to get me a slot because jobs in Nigeria come with connections.”

Since Essengue was a long-time friend, Paul had no reason to doubt him when he called in May to say that he had successfully secured a job placement for him and that all he needed to do was look for money to transport himself to Lagos. 

So, he told his mother, siblings, and extended family about his plan to travel to Nigeria, where ‘bigger and better opportunities’ awaited him. 

“My family members were very happy and eager to help me borrow money from different sources because Essengue told me my monthly salary would be up to $600. I was able to gather 150,000 CFA ($248) from my relatives to make my journey to Nigeria. 

“Some of them gave me the money with the hope that I would do well for myself. I also felt like if I didn’t make it in football, I should be able to make it through other means in Nigeria. I left Cameroon and spent four days on the road, ” he told HumAngle.

With the directive given to him on the phone, he got to Agege, where Essegue was already waiting for him. 

“When I saw Essegue arriving in keke (tricycle) with a guy he called his colleague at work, things looked strange because they did not look like people who were doing fine (financially) as claimed to me on the phone. Besides, which company would use keke to pick his or her new employee? But I kept mum because I did not want them to be suspicious,” Paul narrated.

On getting to the hotel at Agbado Crossing, he was told that he would need to call his family in Cameroon to send additional 200 CFA for proper documentation so the acclaimed job slot would not be given to another person. 

At that point, he realised the ‘juicy’ job offer was a snare and a scam. So, he called his family to inform them about his plight. Luckily, they sent him the contact of one of his brothers-in-law in Nigeria, who coincidentally lived in the area.

“He took me to his house. I spent two days before he raised money for me to return to Cameroon,” the victim explained.

Reporter’s diary – tracking the criminals

Pretending to be a job seeker, HumAngle’s reporter went undercover to Obe junction in Agbado Crossing to locate the scammers and understand how they operate. 

When I asked residents about their camp, they voluntarily directed me to the gang’s gate and warned me to ‘be careful’.

I was confronted by two hefty security guards at the gate who prevented me from entering. When I insisted on seeing the organisation’s head, a man who identified himself as Philip Igwe stepped out to introduce himself as the Manager of QNET. 

“We are doing direct selling and e-commerce. But you cannot enter. You must come through somebody. I don’t know you from anywhere. We pay on commission. When I  am rich, you will be rich. The business is all over the world. You must have capital of at least $200. You cannot enter unless someone invites you,” Igwe said as he pushed me away from the gate. 

Soon, four Cameroonians, who apparently were their new victims, arrived with their bags. As Igwe welcomed them, he made a fake phone call, promising to send some dollars to a customer’s account. 

To attend to the new victims, he gave me his phone number and asked that we should continue our conversation on the phone. TrueCaller identified the owner of the line as Ifesinachi Ugbo, a name he appeared to have used on social media.  

Upon leaving the gate, a resident who pleaded anonymity warned me against any transaction with Igwe and his cohort. 

“They are fraudsters bringing people from Cameroon to enslave them here. Don’t fall victim,” said a businesswoman in the community. “I sell provisions for them, and they will be mad at me if they find out that we are talking about them. So, leave this environment as quickly as you can.”

When I got to the bus stop, I met another representative of the fraudulent organisation. Unlike Igwe, Anthony Chibuzor looked calm and showed interest in explaining their mode of operation when I told him I needed a job.

“The business we do is what you live to remember. It is a multinational business, and people come from Cameroon, Ivory Coast and all,” he said, adding that they have been operating since 2021. 

We continued our conversation at a bar. When I challenged him about his organisation’s fraudulent scheme and asked why he had yet to become rich despite claiming QNET made him successful, he replied, “Don’t make noise. Keep your voice low. We are not fraudulent. The business is an eye-opener.”

When confronted with a fake employment letter used to lure people from Cameroon, Chibuzor admitted that he was also a victim and was being forced to deceive others. At this point, he advised me to leave the environment to avoid being harmed by his superiors.

Although Paul has returned to his soccer academy, hoping that he will be lucky enough to play international football someday, Michel continues to regret his decision to drop out of university. The incident has also cost him his parents’ trust, as he caused them to sell their only plot of land.

“It’s really disappointing to realise that my friends are doing promotional examinations at university while I am out of school. It constantly reminds me of what I missed and pushes me to find a way to get back into school to move forward in my life,” he said.