Fake NGO defrauds Niger traders over ₦250m

The Niger State Police Command has launched a manhunt for a fraudulent syndicate that has swindled traders in Minna out of more than ₦250 million under the guise of a fake non-governmental organisation (NGO).

According to the command’s spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Wasiu Abiodun, the syndicate operated in the Maitumbi area of the state capital, where it lured unsuspecting traders with promises of supplying subsidised food items such as rice, maize, sorghum, semovita, and wheat.

Many traders reportedly paid varying sums of money to the fake NGO as far back as June 2025, expecting deliveries that never came.

Upon visiting the supposed warehouse, the traders found it completely empty, triggering outrage and leading to the ransacking of the facility.

SP Abiodun confirmed that the organisation has since vanished and that the exact number of victims is still being determined.

He assured the public that investigations are ongoing and that efforts to track down and arrest the perpetrators have been intensified.