A joint operation spearheaded by the Federal Competition and (FCCPC), National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has raided loan shark firms in Lagos over consumer rights abuse.
The loan app companies include GoCash, Okash, EasyCredit, Kashkash, Speedy Choice and Easy Moni, operating on the third floor of a four-storey building in Ikeja.
The ICIR in its series of investigations last year uncovered how these loan app companies employ cyberbullying and breach of data privacy to compel loan defaulters to repay their loans.
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In the course of the operation, 800 employees of the loan app companies were informed by the task force of the purpose of the raid and their rights.
Executive Vice Chairman of the joint operation and Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, said the high number of consumer complaints in relation to privacy infringement and malpractices by the lenders informed the decision to raid the firms.
“We found out that most of these companies operate from the same place. We also found out that many of them are actually operated by the same person.
“They are not Nigerian companies, they don’t have addresses in Nigeria and they are not registered in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC and they do not have any license to do their businesses,” he said.
The ICIR in previous investigations had revealed some lending companies in the country were not licensed to carry out monetary operations.
“Essentially what they have is an app, and so we started gathering more information, we engaged the public and people who have been their victims gave us more information,” he said.
Working tools including laptops were carted away by FCCPC and other agencies involved in the raid to support their investigation.
Irukera said the joint task force had obtained a warrant from the court to “proceed” with an investigation into a search and seizure to hit areas with a large influx of lending app companies.
When the regulatory team visited Soko Loan company in the Ikeja area of the state to enforce another court injunction, they were denied entry and had to force their way in.
In August 2021, NITDA had fined Soko Lending Company the sum of N10 million for sending threatening messages to borrowers, which was a privacy invasion.
Some employees of Sokoloan had barricaded the road to prevent the team from leaving but the police swung into action, shooting into the air and removing the barricade.
Actually, no one was locked anywhere, they all closed at their regular closing time. Actually, Mgmt turned off power to frustrate and discomfit regulators from discharging their duties. It’s called obstruction & is criminal. S.159(1)(c) FCCPA & possible imprisonment 3 months.
— Babatunde Irukera (@TundeIrukera) March 11, 2022
A Twitter user, Oladimeji who claimed to be a former employee of a loan app accused Irukera of high-handedness by his team during the raid.
“You locked people in the office without electricity for 3 hours. The real question here is, how do people collect loans with no actual plan of paying back? I called someone when I used to do this job who said he used the money to play bet! Please, how? he tweeted.
Irukera countered his claim saying the management of the loan firm had turned off the electricity supply to make it difficult for the joint task force to work.
He said the agency has been monitoring the activities of the firms for several months, saying it was difficult to identify their operational base.
Amos Abba is a journalist with the International Center for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, who believes that courageous investigative reporting is the key to social justice and accountability in the society.
My bag was stolen from me,my arm ,phone,everything was taken from me. About 2-3ams later I started getting calls from my contacts asking when I started collecting loan,I was like loan keh I didn’t collect loan from loan apps ooo even if I want to borrow money it’s not from loan apps…apparently these people that stole my bag borrowed money from loan apps with my details,are they expecting me to pay money I didn’t use or what because they are mad oooo I won’t pay anything!!! They should go and meet the people that stole my phone
I didn’t borrow from any loan app,for over 3 weeks now,I have been receiving calls from different numbers and na voicemail I dey hear telling me to pay my overdue loan,I don’t understand 02092990*** and 02018885***.
Abeg,wetyn I fit do,cos am tired
Go cash loan app should be banned for defamation of character. Imagine someone borrowing loan the next thing you’re doing is sending messages to their contacts that the person is doing rituals. Please help ban go cash for this wickedness.
Please i need your advice ooo my house was robbed last year September including the whole street they collect my phone with other stuff and everyone too. This happens in ibadan at Alamala street Sanyo. I just finished school that time and all my school details is still on my phone and I was in ibadan for my I.T so when it is morning the next day we went to police and we made a report on what happen and of recent my friend started calling me that they received a message asking me to pay back money I did not borrow but the funniest part of it is that the person that borrow the money used all my details including my home address,my phone number and my BVN and even one of my friends tell does loan app that am not the that borrow the money but they don’t believe him. And they send another message to a friend of today ask me to pay money I didn’t borrow or else they will post my photos on social media
I don’t know if my report is been submitted.
Fair money
Please if you know how someone can wipe his/her data from them it would have been better
Can dey just stop disturbing someone with call
All this loan site are very stupid
You give someone loan of #12000 to pay #18000 in just 7days
Fine I paid on the 10th day with high interest and your been threatening Me
If Nigeria would work like advance countries to enable us get student loan atleast you can’t run from your country
If that was possible how will I meet this yahoo boys and girls in the name of loan apps
New credits and palm credit are scam it’s just a day default they have shown me shege expecialy newcredit they faustrate me with fake police report note , I couldn’t believe it, I think they should be punished for forging Nigeria police report sheet.
Xcross cash loan app,is a real shark from their high interest rate of paying double of what you borrow to stealing from your bank account from time to time,I cleared my overdue loan,they aknowlegded and even offered me another loan,these guys stole more money from my account.
Fellow Nigerians, I just fell to there victim on 19th of August, 2022, I applied for Osunloan they credited me from two accounts and pay with there interest on due date and after a week later they still credited me from six different accounts which I didn’t applied for it on that day and I returned there money immediately I received it with the hope that they will not call me and ask for any money not knowing I was deceiving my self until on Friday 19/08/2022 I received there messages, I didn’t turn to it since I know that am not owing them not until people now been calling that I was posted that I am HIV positive that I even ran away from health care that people should stay away from me. Can you see how hearthless they are, and after posting such of pictures they still have gut of calling and I now told them if they want me to pay there interest they should first send apology message to all my contact they posted my pictures to and they are still disturbing me till this time of night. So Google should please deactivate Osunloan also they are wicked.
I always collect and repay my loan from Lcredit but just i defaulted only for 2 days because my company delayed payment of salary for 2 days…i accept to replay with the interest but i tried all night nd they didn’t accept my payment only i to sleep nd wake-up and started seeing many debit alert…they debited me more than twice still yet they didn’t clear my loan and after some days they started calling me to pay back my loan, i was very angry 😳
Aimloam is a scam loan app that embarrass users befor due date and extort with high interest rate. They won’t show you interest rate while applying but after your done, they cridit you wit lower amount of wat u applied for and charge your more than 100percent of wat you applied for witin 7days. Please investigate them and possibly scrab them
Aimloam is a scam loan app that embarrass users befor due date and extort with high interest rate. They won’t show you interest rate while applying but after your done, they cridit you wit lower amount of wat u applied for and charge your more than 100percent of wat you applied for witin 7days. Please investigate them and possibly scrab them
Rubbish app
They posted my pic
Spoil my image.
How much just 10k
Join #TheICIRSpace on Twitter as we discuss issues surrounding cases of Nigerian Fintech companies shaming and threatening customers for late payment of loans.
Click here to set a reminder: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1yNGaYvlZPvGj
Date: 27th May, 2022.
Time: 7:00PM
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I borrowed money and paid back, they keep sending me different account details to send money to even after I paid back before due date and also sending proof of payment. Same names with different account numbers are what they send to me to pay into again, sending series of bad and life threatening messages to all my contacts even calling them and also sending them accounts details to pay into
Please ooo I don’t know why Gocash still have access to my account deducting my amount ever since when I stoped taking loan from them please help us out oo,because this people still have access to our account and taking money
The crack down on this loan companies or apps is not doing anything because they can just go back and continue from anywhere the only thing government can do to curb their excesses is to crash their system once that is done they will not be able to have access to people’s accounts and details again.
Thank you for reaching out to The ICIR.
We extend our sympathy over the harassment you went through.
You can send a mail to [email protected] detailing your encounter with the loan app.
They are in charge of regulating activities of loan apps in the country and in a better position to resolve the issue.
Kind regards,
Esther Ilesanmi.
Thank you for reaching out to The ICIR.
We extend our sympathy over the harassment you went through.
You can send a mail to [email protected] detailing your encounter with the loan app.
They are in charge of regulating activities of loan apps in the country and in a better position to resolve the issue.
Kind regards,
Esther Ilesanmi.
This people said they will arrest me ni oooo
How am I supposed to pay for d loan i did not borrow bayi
LCredit should be barn for life, no one must pay them back. They are doing underground abuse with customers data. They are calling contacts on phone leaving guarantors alone. As at yesterday 20 April. 2022. Threatening them that they will kill me if I don’t pay up.
Good morning Nigeria,I have been a victim of this Gocach,fast money and Ncash deformation of character,these people are so wicked and heartless,I borrowed money from them,a day before the due date they started calling with threatening massages,I politely answered them,but to my greatest suprise,the due date they stareted calling my quarantors,family members,all my contacts,the worst of it all they told them am a fruadstar,am a theif, I borrowed money refused paying back,I check myself I have never defaulted,they even sent my pictures to those people,some of my we’re calling me,I was so ashamed,I had to call the customer care person,he abused me,call me all sorts of names,I asked him,have I defaulted any day,?besides today is the due date, why are you people so wicked,why don’t you wait for me to default before embarrassing me,he said I should go an ask my ancestors,that I have not seen anything yet,on or before 3pm if he didn’t get my payment that I will see more embarrasedment,why talking to your customers in this manner ?I asked he said,I should stop borrowing and live a better life,I told him you are benefiting from my sweat and you are insulting me and calling me names,but I had no choice other than to look for a way to repay my loan,no one is borrowing this money with happiness with the high interest rate and charges,is condition that makes one to enter borrow,yet you patronise them,and they embarrased you without concience,their custor care so rude and heartless,so if they don’t know how to do business they should shurt down and stop embarrassing people,
I took money from Lcredit and 9credit and just before the loan was due, 9credit sent messages to all my contacts to tarnish my image. This was a day before the due date. On the very day my Loan was due with Lcredit, they sent messages to all my contacts, calling me a thief. My plan was to send them the money as soon as I closed from work.Because of this people, I lost my job. Because of this animals, everybody laughs at me. Because of this useless individuals, I can hardly feed. I have now decided to collect all their money and never pay back. Let them go ahead and keep tarnishing my image. I have nothing to lose anymore. I will collect from all of you and never pay back.. Animals
Comment:they went into my account withdraw all my money, still asking me to. pay them and I refuse they now published my name on WhatsApp
Cashsea has been sending messages since yesterday that am a fraudster as well as a hiv runaway patient . I thought i would die of shame and embarrassment yesterday . I have proof please let’s get d people out of our lives for good over 79 contacts highly disappointed .i cant go to work today or even concentrate d defamation was uncalled for.. gocash,starloan,fastmoney, lcredit , naira plus,truenaira, 9credit re still functional. Ive convinced myself dat dis loan sharks will never benefits from my death. I will live nd watch dem fall.
Cashsea has been sending messages since yesterday that am a fraudster as well as a hiv runaway patient . I thought i would die of shame and embarrassment yesterday . I have proof please let’s get d people out of our lives for good over 79 contacts highly disappointed .i cant go to work today or even concentrate d defamation was uncalled for..
The funny thing is that they will be the one calling you to introduce themselves to you, acting like a dove. And when things become difficult, even when you have been a loyal customer for years, they turn to wolves. Even with their outrageously exorbitant interest and the way they compound it they still threaten your life, violate and invade your privacy and still keeps operating. Federal government and every concerned body should force these loan sharks out of operation, they have led a lot of people into a depressing state and led most to an early grave. Because of them people are jumping from third mainland bridge, people are commiting suicide in other ways. All unregistered and unlicensed lender should be BANNED.
It’s has happened again oo,Lcredit Enter my Contact list and call individual person in my contact list, after giving them three person number while registering with Lcredit, now one Lcredit staff by name Kevin ,call my wife on phone and he has been disturbing her , and threatening her on phone oooo, Government pls safe us from Lcredit Company ooo
Stay away and stay clear from LCredit,It’s wrong for them to penetrate someone contact, is very wrong for them to do that ,u collected three guarantor for Contact and names already,why are u still entering someone privacy contacts!! That’s against the law ooo
22 At 4:26 pm
Here is Lcredit’s contact number. You people should follow up with their office address. 08029306779
3D oba Dosunmu Street GRA Ikeja.
LCredit claiming that no government can arrest them,that they biggest connections to deal with government,that they will bribe the government
22 At 4:26 pm
Here is Lcredit’s contact number. You people should follow up with their office address. 08029306779
3D oba Dosunmu Street GRA Ikeja.
They are still sending defamatory messages to people’s contacts. Looks like they have no idea of whats going on. Hcash is calling my contacts and defaming me.I wasnt even overdue. They whatsapped me and i told them i was going to make payment by 2:30, and they responded back with an okay you will see. Those people are so uncultured. Including starloan(SOKOLENdING)9CREDIT,Fastmoney,sokoloan,Ncash are fraudulent app.
This people are threats to the lenders as they everyone who tends to borrow the loan has no peace of mind and I tell you that because of this loan borrowed I have been having bad dreams,these people tends to fight spiritually with their customers and its dreadful most times thinking of how to pay even as business is not doing so well,bad thoughts runs through the mind like the hell is going on,the heck are they doing manipulate and deprive people of their peace of mind and right to life and jumps in privacies just like that ..if they would continue let it be with peace of mind because to me the money seems to be more than ordinary Mooney and somthething needs to be done
Worst of them is lcredit. I’ve also had terrible experiences from these cursed souls as they will never leave good lives. Lcredit and those that work with them that can barely afford 3square meals a day but yet keep bad mouthing customers will forever know no peace spiritually, physically and in the afterlife if there is such. Someone mentioned their number and address above but I know they won’t be there anymore. You shall all run to your graves…I swear. ICIR and the police, we thank thee.
Government should do more to stop these people very fast,they r really sending people to their early graves.
Nigerians were doing perfectly fine without them,Okash,Lion Cash,Palm Credit, L Credit OX Loan,Cash Lion,True Naira,all should be removed from Google store and their accounts blocked
Please I need a reply right now
Will I still repay my okash Loan since they are banned 🚫
They keep adding #500 on daily basis to the due loan
Fools
All of you saying this are thieves, can you do that kind of business and your customers collected money and never pay back what will you do. Useless country with useless people
Someone died because if this
And I want to also add, they rob their client through their client I formation. Please follow them and safe the people from this wicked shark
Thank you Nigeria government for this wonderful work. This people have been killing people robbing them and still threatening to collect loan, most of all they will send your info to your contact, condemning their client and their love ones, even the dead they still condemned them. Thi people will tell their client to go and use people for ritual, rob the bank and do all manner of evil to get their money back. Even if the client beg them for more time due to the system of the country they will still go ahead and lie and curse and put their client into sick bed all in the name of money. I have been a victim by this people and so many times I have thought of doing the worse to myself. But God Intervened, I was able to overcome my fear and accept all the bully dont to me and quietly be paying them gradually. I also want to add some of this apps who I have been their victim and few of my friend who have also been victimize or commit suicide because of this loan shack. 9credit, Lcredit, cash, true naira, naira plus, aim loan, anyloan, easymonie, fornaira, go cash, fastcash,belloan, procash,kash kash, etc many of them infact all of them are working together in the victimizing of their client. Please follow up this people, for they kill people gradually and collect high amount as interest.
Loan naira, Aje loan,Easy moni,Cashcredit,New credit,Palm credit,X cash,Lcredit,Fairmoney,Easy credit should be banned because they have done more harm than good.Funds of tarnishing people’s image, breach of identity and contact. I was attacked by hudlums and luckily for that day I hard issues with my account so I did credit any money into the account.When they attacked me they told me do transfer and no money in my account, they over BBB eat me and asked me to bring my at the point of Gun.I was just telling that there is money in the app which I don’t have could they use the data o. My phone to download like 6 loan apps plus the one on my phone making 10 use all the 10 to collect money with my details and ATM. I called my bank to lodge my complain and try to the loan customer care line did you know what they told”WE ARE LESS CONCERNED GET OUR MONEY PAID ”’ and I told them I can’t vomit what I did not eat.I can’t keeponey in my account any longer if I do they debit it without my consent. INFACT THEY NEED TO BE BAN AND PENALISED because is too much .
All this things are happening because of bad government if everything is fine in the country who will think of borrowing and the way this people are maltreating their victims is very very bad
I resulted to selling my property to pay up a loan. I thought of suicide twice December 2021 because of Lcredit and Ocash. I have health issues hence I defaulted I explain to them they told me they don’t care about my health all they want was their money back, I explained to them of my plans to pay up all I need was just one month, they started messaging my contacts tarnishing my image and reputation same time. I have to let go of a property I won’t have let out for any reason, please this loan sharks are more than 30, and their interest is mad and they’re all the same, the name mentioned above ain’t all there are more and they are up to know good.
Here is Lcredit’s contact number. You people should follow up with their office address. 08029306779
3D oba Dosunmu Street GRA Ikeja.
One of them name easy loan they sent an advert to me on facebook i applied for loan of 500,000 they asked me to sent them upfrount fee of 50,000 so that the money will be depositrd automatically into my account, when i deposited 50,000 in my acct. They wipe the mo ey emmidiatly including my salary and d mo ey i kept for my family that mount through out i faced hell. May God yakeaway any blessing that was programed for these people and may they be intracted to uncurable disease Amen
I got a loan from easy credit to pay back 65plus I mistakenly paid 85plus I immediately send a message to their customer care that they should refund 20k since 23 February they keep telling me they are working on it for two weeks and I went back to borrow money from the same app to replace my money with interest they are now calling me to pay back the loan without giving me my own money all kinds of threats from them that they will tanish my reputation I told them to go ahead evil people with no heart at all government should put any end to all of them before they kill people finished in Nigeria
This app company are the same, apart from calling your contact they we still be sending you threat massage’s.government should please look into this matter with all seriousness.
I can be a witness in the court if federal government need someone I have enough proof against them and I need to be compensated for all the stress and trauma they made me go through am just 25 but my BP is ready 145/95 hypertension stage 2 just because of this loan app
Please federal government should Hastings up a drastic action against them Lcredit new credit,and xcross cash are demonic I took a loan from xcross it was supposed to be due on the 9th of February I made payment on the 4th the money was not updated in my app I messaged their customers service several times they requested for my statement of account to be sure of my transaction I went to uba got it and send it to them till date it has not been rectify the money is increasing everyday and they are threaten me
Lcredit should also be looked into 2days after receiving payment of 100k from me out of 170k, they sent messages to my contacts that I am a scam and that i defrauded their company.
I have not been able to do any business since then because understandably who would want to transact business with a broadcasted fraudster.
I have managed to pay 155k out of the original 128k borrowed.
The rest na when this nonsense blow over.
LCREDIT is the greatest mistake I made in my life.
It took me thinking of the pain my parents went through when my brother died and the fact that my children will suffer if I die that stopped me from ending it all.
Even now, there are places I can’t visit again because this matter.
Uncultured and untrained elements, in fact government should not just raid them but they must face the music hence others who have such plans would know how to follow the rules and regulations of ligit businesses in Nigeria. Someone used my phone to obtain loan from them and all efforts to appeal to them proof abortive, to my surprise, different people from my contacts started calling my attention to it, in fact, a real damages done to my reputation. Let them be wiped away from our society.
Ease moni wiped all the money in my account without borrowing me any money, after have registered for the loan with my bvn
Even when I repaid my loan, they where still call my contacts and lied to them. this was why a colleague of my at the office committed suicide because she was unable to pay back the frud loan they gave her and they where treated her with death and to many disturbances but she later killed her self out of fear. Rest In Peace babe🕊🕊🕊😭😭😭💔
I was a victim of these company, after sending nasty messages to my contacts, my boss at work saw it and it affected my contract.God will punish these companies cause I feel depressed that I hardly go out again
There are so many of these companies there duping people.
There is this one called CROWD 1 infact I invested #193,000 into their company hoping to give me back with interest but till today the money is gone.
Please kindly assist.
Thanks.
Iseyemi Adegboye Augustine.
good one. these loan companies has done more harm. especially. lcredit, gocash,they are not helping.
This is the best action at the right time.
Nigeria will never forget these loan sharks as they’ve caused more harms to her citizens even more than COVID-19.
The most useless among these Apps are still untouched, likes of LCredit, 9credit, Sokoloan xcredit.