“Wey CBEX Office in Ibadan?”

“This one pain me.”

That’s the chorus ringing across WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, and newspaper stands this week in Ibadan and across Nigeria. CBEX — the notorious Ponzi-scheme-turned-tech-platform — has finally crashed, sending shockwaves through major cities including Ibadan, where its office was looted by irate youths who lost huge sums of money.

The numbers are staggering: over ₦1 trillion in personal savings, business capital, and borrowed funds has evaporated. The CBEX crash is more than a scam — it’s economic sabotage, with Ibadan among the hardest hit cities.

CBEX and the Ponzi Scheme Crisis in Ibadan

CBEX entered the Nigerian scene wrapped in shiny tech jargon: blockchain, AI-powered trading, crypto arbitrage, and of course, “guaranteed daily returns.” Just like MMM, it promised heaven and delivered heartbreak. For months, it paid early birds, giving an illusion of legitimacy.

Many Ibadan residents, especially youths and traders in areas like Dugbe, Bodija, and Challenge, flocked to CBEX, hoping for a financial breakthrough. But on a dark Monday morning, withdrawals stopped.

The Looting of CBEX Office in Ibadan

The CBEX crash sparked immediate anger in Ibadan, Oyo State’s capital. By Monday evening, reports confirmed that hundreds of frustrated investors stormed the CBEX office at Oke Ado, breaking in and carting away furniture, office equipment, and anything in sight. The office is the building that housed the Peter Obi/Datti Campaign office in Oyo state. It is beside the Ishaq Ajimobi Central Mosque.

Eyewitnesses said the looters were mostly young men and women who had invested their school fees, business capital, and even borrowed money through cooperative societies. “How can they collect money from us and disappear?” one angry victim shouted as the chaos unfolded.

Over ₦1 Trillion — Gone Without a Trace

Initial reports from local cooperatives and loan apps suggest massive losses in Ibadan alone, possibly in the tens of billions. Nationwide, the crash has wiped out over ₦1 trillion.

In Lagos, estimates hit ₦300 billion. In Kano and Port Harcourt, similar stories abound. But Ibadan’s losses have a unique human toll — traders at Gbagi market, teachers in Mokola, and students at UI and Polytechnic Ibadan all have stories of devastation.

Just Another Ponzi Dressed in Tech

Let’s call it what it is. CBEX is just another Ponzi scheme, dressed in Web3 buzzwords. Like MMM, it:

• Promised abnormal returns.
• Used referral commissions as bait.
• Paid early investors with latecomer funds.
• Crashed once new money dried up.

And like MMM, it left Ibadan residents picking up the pieces.

Ibadan: A Wake-Up Call

The CBEX collapse in Ibadan is more than a financial event — it’s a social and emotional crisis. A reminder that desperation is not a financial plan. That “online investment” does not equal legitimacy. And that any platform promising guaranteed high returns is not an opportunity — it’s a trap.

Over ₦1 trillion didn’t just vanish. It moved — from the poor and desperate, to a faceless elite who may never be found.

Let Ibadan and the whole country learn the lesson this time. We can’t afford another CBEX, another MMM, or another “sure investment.”

If it sounds too good to be true, especially in Ibadan or anywhere else in Nigeria — it probably is.