The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally engaged the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in a coordinated national push to combat Ponzi schemes, illegal investment operations and cryptocurrency-related frauds.
The alliance was unveiled in Abuja on Wednesday during a strategic meeting between SEC Director General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
This was disclosed in a release by the capital market regulator on Wednesday.
This marks a significant escalation in the regulator’s enforcement strategy against investment scams operating outside the formal capital market that continue to erode public confidence in Nigeria’s financial system.
What SEC is saying
The regulator is seeking a joint task force, a cyber collaboration to close enforcement gaps and protect investors.
Dr. Agama noted that SEC, as the statutory watchdog of Nigeria’s capital market, requires a complementary role of the Police for criminal enforcement against fraudsters exploiting the gap between regulatory identification and prosecution.
It is one thing to intensify surveillance and oversight, but another to bring suspects to book.
According to him, Ponzi operators and illegal digital asset promoters have continued to prey on vulnerable Nigerians with promises of “miraculous returns” of up to 200% within weeks, often disguising fraud as sophisticated cryptocurrency or foreign exchange investments.
“These schemes operate in the shadows, exploiting trust and financial desperation. They leave behind shattered lives, depleted pensions and broken confidence in the financial system,” Agama said, describing the phenomenon as not only a financial crime but a broader social menace.
He stressed that while the SEC can identify regulatory breaches and illegal market activities, effective prosecution requires the investigative reach, arrest powers and nationwide presence of the police.
Proposal for joint task force, cyber collaboration
To close what he described as a “critical seam” exploited by fraudsters, the SEC DG proposed an institutionalised partnership anchored on joint intelligence sharing, coordinated enforcement operations, capacity building and a nationwide public awareness campaign.
Central to the proposal is the establishment of a dedicated SEC–NPF joint task force combining market intelligence, forensic accounting expertise and police investigative capabilities to act as a rapid-response unit against emerging fraud schemes.
Agama also sought the IGP’s approval for a Memorandum of Understanding between the SEC and the Police Cyber Security Unit to strengthen oversight of digital platforms increasingly used to perpetrate investment scams.
“The fight against financial crime is a fight for the soul of our economy. Together, we can form an impenetrable shield around Nigerian investors,” he said.
Police pledge full backing
In his response, IGP Egbetokun assured the Commission of the Nigeria Police Force’s full readiness to collaborate and strengthen enforcement against financial crimes.
He noted that reinforcing the police enforcement unit attached to the SEC would significantly enhance the regulator’s ability to curb illegal capital market activities, adding that effective enforcement would yield broader economic benefits.
Egbetokun also commended the SEC on the recent milestone of crossing the N100 trillion market capitalisation mark, describing it as a positive signal for economic growth and development.
On cyber enforcement, the police chief formally approved collaboration between the SEC and the NPF Cyber Security Centre, signalling a tougher stance against digital investment fraud and online Ponzi schemes.
The partnership is expected to intensify crackdowns on illegal schemes and send a strong warning to fraudsters that regulatory and law enforcement agencies are now operating in lockstep.
What you need to know
The formal partnership between the SEC and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) traces back to April 2010, when the erstwhile DG, Ms. Arunma Oteh, established a dedicated Nigerian Police Unit within the Commission to assist with investigations and enforcement of criminal cases related to capital market offences.
This unit was created to handle cases involving criminality and to work closely with police investigators on matters such as illegal fund managers and other market infractions rife at the time. However, the partnership went into a lull with the departure of Oteh.
Dr. Agama’s renewed push to jointly tackle Ponzi schemes could mark the institutionalisation of the 2010 initiative to integrate police capabilities into SEC enforcement efforts.
