In 2020, Osaretin Adetola (not her real name), a Lagos-based medical doctor, was introduced to what seemed like a promising investment opportunity with Yoghurtvest.

The YoghurtVest scheme, managed by NIELB Multinational, offered investors a chance to earn returns through its affiliation with Habib Yoghurt, a popular dairy brand in Nigeria.

Convinced by the potential, Adetola invested N150,000 in two batches: N100,000 in June 2021 and another N50,000 shortly after. NIELB promised that her investment would mature in December 2021, but the returns didn’t come until January 2022.

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Encouraged by the promise of a return of N75,000, she reinvested N150,000 in September 2021, expecting full returns by March 2021. However, over three years later, Adetola is still waiting for her promised returns or a refund on the second investment.

Initially, NIELB tried to reassure Adetola and other investors with consistent updates. But the stream of emails and messages did little to calm the growing concerns. Dan from Yoghurtvest, a NIELB representative, regularly sent updates such as this: “We are working hard to navigate through challenges and hurdles…before the end of the 2nd quarter, many of you will have reasons to smile.”

But as months dragged on, investors like Adetola found no reason to smile.

Adetola told FIJ that NIELB’s website and the Yoghurtvest investment dashboard, once accessible to investors, went offline. Communications from the company became increasingly vague. True to her claims, FIJ’s attempts to access the Yoghurtvest website failed, with the site remaining down as of the time of this report.

In early 2022, the company proposed a repayment plan, promising that investments between N50,000 and N500,000 would be repaid by June. But this, like many other promises, was yet another broken commitment.

By November 2022, NIELB admitted to serious financial difficulties. In one email, the company disclosed it was “almost technically insolvent but had to fight hard to remain in business”. They claimed payments were paused to focus on completing internal projects and promised to resume once these were finished.

But, once again, those reassurances meant little to Adetola whose investment remained stuck.

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In May 2023, the company asked investors to provide details of their investments along with their bank account information, promising a refund of the capital. Adetola complied, but like previous promises, this one also went unfulfilled.

By August 2023, Adetola’s patience had run out. She wrote: “It’s obvious all your updates are measures to string investors along. I wish to remind you that any day a legal process is commenced, my ROI will be calculated against time.”

By 2024, all communications from NIELB ceased, leaving investors in the dark.

For Adetola, NIELB’s promises have brought nothing but frustration. She continues to wait, determined to get her money back despite the apparent lack of transparency.

On September 4, FIJ wrote to NIELB and Habibi Yoghurt, seeking explanations for the delays and lack of clear communication. Neither company had responded to FIJ’s inquiries at press time.