In December 2020, Amaka Udoye was surfing the internet when she stumbled on a business opportunity Chijioke Nwuguo, her Facebook friend, advertised. Intrigued by Nwuguo’s many promises, she decided to invest in the company.
According to Udoye, Nwuguo rigorously promoted Da Cruisifisco, the palm oil company he used to fleece many Nigerians on Facebook. She told FIJ that on several occasions, Nwuguo would post pictures of himself in what appeared to be palm oil factories to convince people to invest in the business.
FIJ findings showed that Da Cruisifisco investors’ return on investment was between 10 percent and 13 percent. And while there was no minimum payment anyone could invest with, Nwuguo made it clear that his investors were buying drums of palm oil that he would sell on their behalf and give them the profit.
“I paid N244,000 for two drums of oil on January 17, 2021. By our agreement, he was supposed to pay me N30,000 from February 20 to January 2022 and then refund my capital when my RoI period ended, but he stopped paying in September,” she told FIJ.
Nwuguo, she said, began telling his investors inconsistent stories in August 2021. At first, Nwuguo lied that his bank had network challenges, according to Udoye. Later, he said there was a reduction in the price of palm oil in the eastern part of Nigeria and that he would ship his products overseas to earn more money.
All the while, Nwuguo stopped paying most investors their monthly RoI, as FIJ learned. At the end of October 2021, he told his investors that a certain Daniel Mbanaso, his business associate, had run away with some N36.6 million.
Awa Oduah, another investor, told FIJ that she was convinced her money was in safe hands when she first invested in January 2021. After the first three months were successful, she invested another N75,000 to get N7,500 for six months in April.
“But by October, he delayed my RoI and that was when he started saying stories. I chatted with an admin of the business on the issue and she said she did not know what was happening,” she said.
Oduah further said her suspicions about Nwuguo rose in December when he continued to advertise his products and promised whoever would subscribe to any of his investment schemes would receive a bonus.
“I chatted with him, but he didn’t reply. Later, he said he had gone to the bank to get some loans and would pay us. This was in December, but till now, he has not said anything meaningful. He is using the sit-at-home as an excuse,” she said.
“What is confusing is how he lies. His bank, according to him, is in Enugu while his account officer is in Port Harcourt. I don’t know how possible this is.”
Sunny Etim, a Facebook friend of Nwuguo, whose sisters lost a total of N1.5 million to Da Cruisifisco, said he was displeased with how the issue was handled.
“My sisters only got their RoI once. He could not pay them, but he started saying a lot of stories. He said the sea level was high, so he could not ship his products,” said Etim.
“Nwuguo claimed he was in Ghana, but I know he is at Nnewi in Anambra. When I commented on his Facebook page that he should pay people his money, he deleted my comments. He has promised to pay many times, but his words always hit the ground.”
When FIJ called Chijioke Nwuguo via his phone number, it rang several times but the call was unanswered. At press time, he had not responded to a text sent to him.
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