By Frontline Reporters

Nigerians who invested millions of naira in an online platform known as PXES are counting their losses after the scheme abruptly stopped paying returns and became inaccessible, leaving thousands of participants unable to withdraw their funds.

The platform reportedly stopped making payments in early September, with investors who committed sums ranging from tens of thousands of naira to millions left stranded. The development has triggered outrage in parts of the country, with angry investors reportedly storming and looting PXES offices in Adamawa and Kogi states in an attempt to recover their money.

Reports gathered by Frontline Reporters indicate that PXES attracted participants with promises of unusually high returns, reportedly ranging from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, while some packages were said to offer returns as high as 120 per cent. However, the reported returns could not be independently verified.

Investors storm offices

In Adamawa and Kogi, frustrated investors reportedly descended on PXES offices after repeated attempts to withdraw their money failed. Videos circulating online showed people removing chairs, tables and other items from the company’s office in Yola, while similar scenes were reported at its office in Kabba.

One investor, who reportedly put about N209,000 into the scheme, was heard in a video lamenting his inability to recover his funds.

At Kabba, the local manager was said to have earlier assured investors that the management would compensate them and urged them to remain patient. But only three days after the message was circulated, the office was reportedly shut, leaving investors without information about the whereabouts of the operators or the fate of their money.

‘We were attracted by people making money’

For many victims, the decision to invest was influenced by friends, relatives and acquaintances who appeared to be receiving regular payments from the platform.

One investor, Bunmi Awodipe, said three friends showed her evidence of receiving returns from PXES, convincing her to invest N200,000.

She said she initially received about N7,000 weekly, but payments stopped after three weeks.

“When I went to their office last week, I didn’t see anyone. The place was locked and there was nothing in the office. Everything was removed,” she said.

Another investor, Deji Mulero, said a customer introduced him to the scheme on September 4. He registered with N65,000, only for the platform to stop operating almost immediately.

Another participant, identified simply as Wale, said he registered with N207,000 and had accumulated nearly N600,000 on his account before the platform became inaccessible.

For 68-year-old Jumoke Talabi, the investment was intended to help pay her granddaughter’s school expenses and meet household needs.

Talabi said she invested N64,800 after seeing other participants receive payments. She had earlier received about N70,000 from the platform and subsequently increased her investment, expecting further returns.

But when the next withdrawal period arrived, the expected payment never came.

“I was meant to collect N18,000 before school resumes, and I thought that I would finish collecting all my profit. But so far, I have not collected any money,” she lamented.

Explaining why she took the risk, Talabi said poverty had pushed her into the investment.

“It’s poverty that made me do it. If not poverty, I would not, because the money is meant for school fees. I thought that maybe, I would see some to buy rice and eat,” she said.

How the PXES model worked

Interviews with participants and promotional materials reviewed by Frontline Reporters suggest that PXES operated a tiered membership system in which participants paid specified amounts to gain access to an online dashboard.

According to a former participant, Funmi Deinde, membership levels included Star 1, Star 2 and Star 3, with packages reportedly costing about N21,600, N54,800 and N207,000, respectively.

Members were given access to a dashboard where they completed daily tasks described as “orders”. Products, including household items, were displayed on the platform for participants to interact with, although they did not physically receive the products.

Deinde said the system was initially structured to allow members to withdraw their earnings daily, with withdrawals later changed to weekly as participation increased.

Another participant, Emmanuel Ajayi, said a N64,000 package could generate about N2,160 from daily tasks, while a N21,600 package reportedly generated about N720.

Promotional materials reviewed by Frontline Reporters showed packages beginning at N21,600, with higher packages including N64,800 and N207,000. The materials claimed that N21,600 could generate up to N259,200 over 360 days, while N64,800 could generate as much as N777,600 within the same period.

Participants were also encouraged to introduce new members and build networks, creating an additional referral component.

A security guard who invested N64,000 said he was initially reluctant to join after his sister introduced the scheme to him. He eventually invested following repeated persuasion and withdrew about N20,000 twice before losing the balance when payments stopped.

His sister, who reportedly built a larger network within the platform, was said to have lost more than N1 million.

Investment platform or digital marketing company?

Questions have also emerged over the actual nature of PXES and the source of funds used to pay participants.

At an event in Kabba, PXES representatives reportedly rejected the description of the organisation as an investment platform, instead presenting it as a digital marketing and advertising company.

A company representative, Olubowale Ayodele, told participants that PXES provided digital marketing opportunities to unemployed people and graduates.

He encouraged people with smartphones to participate in what he described as digital marketing work and claimed that a member of his team was earning N700,000 weekly.

Another official, identified as the company’s training director, Eniola Oluwatobi, described PXES as an advertising firm that allegedly partnered with companies such as eBay and Amazon.

According to him, products were made available to members through the PXES application for advertising purposes.

At the same event, the Obadofin of Oweland, Olusegun Are, described PXES as an income opportunity capable of providing Nigerians with an additional source of income. He also claimed that the platform had provided food items to more than 300 elderly people in Kabba.

Questions over regulatory approval

The collapse has raised fresh concerns about whether PXES was authorised to solicit investment funds from members of the public.

Financial analyst George Samuel advised Nigerians to establish whether any organisation seeking their money is properly licensed by the relevant regulator before investing.

He stressed that registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission does not, by itself, authorise a company to accept deposits or solicit investment funds from the public.

According to him, prospective investors should demand evidence of the appropriate Securities and Exchange Commission licence and conduct basic due diligence before committing their money.

A banker, Kemi Junaid, identified promises of unusually high or guaranteed returns as major warning signs.

She said financial desperation and poor financial literacy often make people vulnerable to schemes promising quick and substantial profits.

She advised prospective investors to focus on how an organisation intends to generate the promised returns rather than relying on testimonials from existing participants.

EFCC urges victims to report scams

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said it would investigate reported cases of financial crimes and investment scams brought before it.

EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said complaints must be formally reported to the commission before action could be taken.

He recalled that the EFCC had repeatedly warned Nigerians about investment scams and Ponzi schemes, urging members of the public to conduct proper due diligence before investing.

Oyewale, however, did not confirm that the commission had opened a specific investigation into PXES.

Another familiar Ponzi pattern

The PXES crisis has renewed concerns about the recurring cycle of online investment schemes that attract Nigerians with aggressive recruitment, early payouts and promises of extraordinary returns before eventually experiencing withdrawal problems and collapse.

In April 2025, the collapse of Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) triggered one of Nigeria’s biggest recent Ponzi-related crises. Reports indicated that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians had invested in the platform, with suspected losses running into trillions of naira.

CBEX had reportedly promised investors returns of up to 100 per cent within 30 days through purported artificial-intelligence-powered trading. The SEC subsequently stated that CBEX and its affiliates were not registered to operate as a digital asset exchange or solicit investments from Nigerians.

The EFCC later investigated the scheme, with arrests and recovery proceedings reportedly following.

Another platform, EMAAR, reportedly collapsed months later after attracting thousands of investors with alleged real estate investment opportunities. In May 2026, XM Future Music Group also reportedly crashed after investors were unable to withdraw their funds.

The repeated pattern has become increasingly familiar: aggressive recruitment, attractive initial payouts, extraordinary profit promises, referral incentives, withdrawal difficulties and, ultimately, collapse.

PXES platforms go silent

Further checks by Frontline Reporters indicate that PXES’ known website has become inaccessible, while some investors said its WhatsApp channel had also been blocked.

Its Facebook page, PXES NG, reportedly showed no recent activity, with the last visible post dating back to June 21.

The page had largely been used to publicise training sessions, meetings, team-building activities and strategies for increasing members’ earnings.

It also featured posts highlighting PXES’ activities and claimed expansion across Nigeria and other African countries.

In some of its posts, the platform claimed to have impacted more than one million members through financial stability and welfare support.

For the latest victims, however, the promises of financial security have given way to anxiety, unanswered questions and potentially devastating losses