Press "Enter" to skip to content

SEC, NOA transfer in opposition to rising unlawful funding schemes amid rising financial stress 

The Securities and Change Fee (SEC) has introduced a strategic partnership with the Nationwide Orientation Company (NOA) to accentuate public enlightenment campaigns in opposition to unlawful funding schemes throughout Nigeria.

The event was disclosed by SEC Director-Common, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, throughout a gathering with NOA Director-Common, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in Abuja on Thursday.

The transfer comes amid rising issues over the proliferation of fraudulent monetary platforms exploiting Nigerians underneath mounting financial stress.

The collaboration indicators a strategic shift towards combining regulatory enforcement with nationwide schooling, as authorities search to curb recurring Ponzi-style schemes and restore confidence within the regulated capital market.

What SEC is saying

The SEC mentioned it’s scaling efforts to fight unlawful funding schemes by leveraging the NOA’s nationwide communication community to increase investor schooling.

The Fee famous that rising financial hardship and monetary illiteracy have elevated the vulnerability of Nigerians to fraudulent platforms.

  • “The capital market stays a important automobile for nationwide growth, however widespread misinformation and monetary illiteracy proceed to show residents to exploitative schemes,” Agama mentioned.
  • “We’re stepping past regulatory enforcement to embrace mass schooling as a preventive technique.” 
  • “Many Nigerians fall sufferer not by selection however as a result of financial stress and restricted consciousness of professional funding channels.”

The SEC added that unlawful schemes are evolving quickly, making proactive communication and constant public sensitisation important to defending buyers.

Extra insights

Agama harassed that collaboration with the NOA is important to making sure investor safety messages attain communities nationwide. He described the company’s grassroots presence as a strategic asset in delivering accessible and well timed info to each city and rural populations.

  • The SEC famous that new fraudulent funding platforms are rising continuously, usually disguised as digital wealth-building alternatives.
  • The Fee mentioned enforcement actions alone can not successfully deal with the problem with out behavioural change and improved monetary literacy.
  • The NOA’s outreach infrastructure contains partnerships with 193 radio stations and 5 tv stations nationwide.
  • Engagement channels will even embody non secular centres, motor parks, neighborhood city halls, and different native platforms to deepen consciousness.

The SEC emphasised that stronger inter-agency collaboration will improve the safety of residents’ monetary wellbeing whereas reinforcing belief in regulated monetary markets.

Responding, Issa-Onilu counseled the SEC’s position in strengthening the capital market however famous that its achievements should not widely known. He mentioned ignorance stays a significant driver of economic fraud and harassed the significance of civic schooling in discouraging participation in misleading schemes.

He added that societal attitudes towards fast wealth accumulation usually gasoline demand for unregulated investments, making worth reorientation a key element of the partnership.

What it’s best to know

Nigeria has skilled a surge in unlawful funding and Ponzi schemes lately, with fraudsters focusing on unsuspecting buyers by guarantees of unrealistic returns. In March 2025, the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) recognized 58 firms allegedly working unlawful Ponzi schemes, a lot of which weren’t registered with the SEC or the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The SEC-NOA partnership is subsequently positioned as a preventive intervention geared toward strengthening monetary literacy, selling accountable funding behaviour, and lowering recurring monetary losses amongst Nigerians.


..