At least 20 persons held hostage by a Ponzi scheme syndicate in Oba Ile,  Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, have been rescued, the police say.

Wilfred Afolabi, the state police commissioner, disclosed this to journalists at a briefing in Akure on Friday after a sting operation by detectives from the command.

Mr Afolabi said one Sakariya Sadiq, 26, was arrested following the complaints by some parents over the sudden disappearance of their children who are from Osun and Oyo States.

The police boss said the victims were declared missing from their various homes since November 2024, after they were supposedly called up for a job in Akure introduced to them by their friends.

He said the command’s surveillance team swung into action on April 24, leading to the rescue of the victims, who were allegedly lured into joining a Ponzi scheme called “Quest International Company” under false promises of profit.

“During the operation, one Sakariya Sadiq ‘m’ was discovered to be the prime suspect involved in the alleged criminal activities,” Mr Afolabi said.

Mr Afolabi said the victims were Rafiu Kehinde (male), Adebayo Nafisat (female), Mohammed Aishat (female), jesujuwon Osuntoki (male), Mustapha Gbolahan (male), ibukun Samuel (male), and gbolahan Wasiu (male)

Others are Aminu Ifasina (male), Mohammed Sheifff (m), Adebayo Rohemat (female), Saheed Ibrahim (male), Ibrahim Adebayo (male), Adebayo Sukurat (female), and Olawoyi Wasilat (female).

Also included are: Sholagberu Shakirat (female), Adeyemi Skukurat (female), Basari Saadiqq (male), and Raji Taofeek (male).

“Each victim is demanded to pay ₦1,500,000.00 each and also instructed to refer two others to the scheme as criteria to become a member of the group, after which they are denied access to their relatives.

“The suspect claimed that the money was for the victims’ Chi-pendants, Bio-Discs and accommodation. The suspect will be charged to court upon the completion of the investigation while efforts are also in progress to reunite the victims with their families,” he added.

This comes after the cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) scheme crashed, with the Nigerian authorities currently investigating a N1.2 trillion fraud, which has affected over 600,000 Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the police, on April 28, apprehended a suspect, Oyebode Oluwakemi, for job racketeering after she allegedly defrauded her victim of N5.3 million.

The police said she had pretended to be securing government jobs for her victims with the intent of defrauding them.

“In the course of investigation, it was discovered that the suspect had defrauded many people running to the tune of two hundred and fifty million naira (#250,000,000.00). The suspect will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.”