Another Ponzi platform, PXES collapse leaves Nigerian investors counting losses
Nigerians who invested from tens of thousands of naira to millions in the online platform PXES are counting their losses after the scheme abruptly stopped paying participants in early September and became inaccessible.
The collapse has sparked anger in several parts of the country, with aggrieved investors reportedly storming and looting PXES offices in Adamawa and Kogi states after they were unable to withdraw their funds.Videos circulating online showed people removing chairs, tables and other items from the platform’s office in Yola, while similar scenes were reported at its office in Kabba. In one video, a man who reportedly invested about N209,000 was heard lamenting his inability to recover his money.
The scale of losses remains unclear, and Saturday PUNCH reported that it could not independently verify all the returns promoted by the platform.
PXES had reportedly attracted participants with promises of unusually high returns, with some promotional claims putting returns at between 25 per cent and 50 per cent, while certain packages were said to offer returns as high as 120 per cent.For investors caught in the collapse, the attraction was often the prospect of turning relatively modest amounts into substantial income within a short period.
Bunmi Awodipe said she invested N200,000 after three friends showed her evidence of receiving payments from the platform.
“They told me they invested money in PXES and were receiving their payments.
“They showed me evidence, so I decided to invest N200,000 and was receiving N7,000 every week. They only paid me for three weeks,” she said.Another investor, Deji Mulero, said he was introduced to the platform by a customer on September 4, registered with N65,000 and lost the money when the platform stopped operating that same week.
Wale, another participant, said he registered with N207,000 and had accumulated almost 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.She said she invested N64,800 after seeing other participants receive payments and had previously received N70,000 from the platform before deciding to increase her exposure.
Her experience illustrates the vulnerability of financially stretched households to schemes promising unusually high and seemingly regular income.
“It’s poverty that made me do it,” Talabi said, explaining why she took the risk.
Accounts from participants and promotional materials reviewed by Saturday PUNCH indicate that PXES operated through a tiered membership structure.Participants paid specified amounts to join and were then given access to an online dashboard where they were expected to complete daily tasks described as orders.
The reported entry packages included N21,600, N64,800 and N207,000, corresponding to different membership levels.
Funmi Deinde, a participant who said she withdrew her money before the collapse, described levels including Star 1, Star 2 and Star 3. Members were given access to products displayed on a dashboard and instructed to interact with them as part of the purported task system.According to participants, the platform initially permitted daily withdrawals before moving to weekly withdrawals as membership grew.
One participant said a N64,000 package could generate about N2,160 from daily tasks, while a N21,600 package could generate about N720.
Promotional materials reportedly claimed that an investment of N21,600 could generate up to N259,200 over 360 days, while N64,800 could generate as much as N777,600 over the same period.Those claims represented returns several times the original capital, although the reported promotional figures have not been independently verified.
Participants also said members could introduce new people and build networks around the platform.
That referral element, combined with testimonials from participants who appeared to be receiving payments, helped create a sense of legitimacy and encouraged some investors to commit more money.At an event in Kabba, representatives reportedly presented the organisation not as an investment platform but as a digital marketing and advertising company.
Olubowale Ayodele, identified as a company representative, told participants that PXES created digital marketing opportunities for unemployed people and graduates, encouraging people with smartphones to participate.Another official, identified as the company’s training director, Eniola Oluwatobi, described PXES as an advertising firm and claimed that it partnered with companies including eBay and Amazon to promote products through the PXES application.
Those claims could not be independently verified in the report.
Oluwatobi said products were distributed to members through the application for advertising, while participants interacted with the products on their dashboards without physically receiving the goods.
The distinction between a legitimate digital-marketing activity and a scheme in which participants pay money in anticipation of financial returns is now central to the questions surrounding PXES.The collapse has also renewed concerns about whether platforms soliciting funds from Nigerians are properly authorised by the relevant financial regulators.
Financial analyst George Samuel warned prospective investors against assuming that registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) automatically gives a company the right to collect deposits or solicit investment funds from the public.
A CAC registration establishes a corporate entity, but does not by itself constitute a licence to conduct regulated financial or investment activities, he said.The collapse has also renewed concerns about whether platforms soliciting funds from Nigerians are properly authorised by the relevant financial regulators.
Financial analyst George Samuel warned prospective investors against assuming that registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) automatically gives a company the right to collect deposits or solicit investment funds from the public.
A CAC registration establishes a corporate entity, but does not by itself constitute a licence to conduct regulated financial or investment activities, he said.Samuel advised investors to establish the regulatory status of any organisation before committing funds, particularly where the operator is promising unusually high returns.
The warning is significant given the recurring pattern in Nigeria of investment schemes attracting participants with testimonials, referral networks and promises of returns that appear disproportionate to the amount invested.
Banker Kemi Junaid also identified guaranteed profits and unusually high returns as major warning signs.
She said financial desperation and low financial literacy could make people particularly vulnerable to schemes promising quick wealth.Rather than relying on testimonials from other participants, prospective investors should ask how a platform intends to generate the returns it promises, she said.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 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 can be taken.
He reiterated the agency’s previous warnings against investment scams and Ponzi schemes and urged Nigerians to carry out proper due diligence before committing their money.The EFCC spokesperson did not, however, confirm that the commission had opened a specific investigation into PXES.
That distinction is important as reports of the platform’s collapse continue to circulate and affected investors seek ways of recovering their funds.
The concerns surrounding PXES come less than two years after another major investment scheme left hundreds of thousands of Nigerians facing substantial losses.
In April 2025, the collapse of Crypto Bridge Exchange, popularly known as CBEX, triggered one of the country’s biggest recent Ponzi-related crises. About 600,000 Nigerians were reportedly caught up in the scheme, with losses estimated at about N1.3 trillion.CBEX had reportedly promised investors 100 per cent returns after 30 days through purported artificial-intelligence-powered trading.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subsequently said CBEX and its affiliates had never been registered to operate as a digital asset exchange or solicit investments from the Nigerian public.
The regulator said its preliminary investigation indicated that the platform created a false perception of legitimacy and offered what it described as implausibly high guaranteed returns.
The EFCC also investigated the CBEX case, with the commission later announcing arrests and recovery and forfeiture proceedings involving some promoters.Another platform, EMAAR, reportedly collapsed later in 2025 after attracting more than 4,000 investors with purported returns linked to real estate investments.
The recurring nature of these collapses highlights a persistent problem for Nigeria’s financial system: the gap between the demand for quick, reliable income and the ability of ordinary investors to distinguish legitimate investment opportunities from schemes built around unsustainable returns.
For investors, the PXES episode offers another warning that an organisation’s online presence, physical office, testimonials or corporate registration should not be mistaken for evidence of regulatory approval or financial sustainability.The critical question is not simply how much an investment promises to pay, but where the money comes from to generate those returns.
For regulators and law-enforcement agencies, the challenge is equally significant. By the time an investment scheme becomes visibly distressed, thousands of participants may already have committed their savings.
The PXES collapse therefore adds to the growing pressure on financial regulators to strengthen public education, improve early detection of unlicensed investment operations and make it easier for Nigerians to verify whether an organisation is authorised to collect or manage their money.For the investors now trying to recover their funds, however, those safeguards have come too late.
