Firm Defrauds 12,000 Women In Oil Scam

About 12,000 women have been ripped off in an oil deal, by Women In Oil, an illegal fund manger and oil scam operator based in Port Harcourt and major cities in the country.

The bubbles burst for the illegal oil operators last week as operatives of the Security and Exchange Commission, (SEC) led by the head of enforcement unit, Eric Elujekor and supported by the Police Unit of SEC, sealed up the Port Harcourt and Sokoto offices of the firm, following complaints against the organisation by members of the investing public.

The Tide gathered that Women-In-Oil hoodwinked their victims through mouth watering offers, with expectations of bountiful returns on investment.

With claims of Presidential endorsement of its operations, the firm which purported to be an indigenous oil company, was said to have obtained money from the unsuspecting public in a mode akin to ‘wonder bank’ operation and ponzi scheme, through a phony women empowerment scheme, guaranteeing financial breakthroughs. This claim has however been debunked by the special adviser to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati. Part of the claims of the scammers was to make its victims part owners of the company and its crude oil prospecting and mining project.

Investigations revealed that the target investors are made to part with a membership fee of N120,000.00 each with an assurance that the said amount had already been offset by the Federal Government through a presidential assent.

The firm was also said to have collected the sum of N8,700,00 as “cost of legal certificate and local Government verification” from its victims, an amount that was made payable enbloc or in two installments.

In an interview with The Tide shortly after the seal up exercise at the Port Harcourt office of the organisation, Head of the SEC enforcement unit, Eric Elujekor said the action was in line with the mandate of investor protection entrusted to SEC by the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007.

Taneh Beemene

L-R: Former Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu; Bauchi State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Hajia Amina Katagum; Vice President Namadi Sambo and Governor Isa Yuguda, during the inauguration of fertilizer blending company in Bauchi, recently. Photo: NAN