The scourge of employment fraud in Nigeria has long darkened the dreams of its youth, turning what should be a path to opportunity into a trap of financial ruin. In 2023, youth unemployment hovered around 5.84 percent, with some reports highlighting as high as 53 percent unemployment in specific regions. This growing crisis has led to annual losses exceeding N40 billion to job scams, as revealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in early 2025.
With over 60 percent of Africa’s population under the age of 25, Nigeria’s youth represent both the country’s greatest resource and its most vulnerable. Faced with a lack of opportunity and hope, these young people are being targeted by sophisticated fraud syndicates promising government and corporate jobs that don’t exist.
Amid this growing epidemic, one tragic example from Cross River State reveals the real human cost. On August 26, 2025, the Cross River Local Government Service Commission announced the arrest of two members of a fake employment syndicate caught with forged letters purporting to be from the commission itself.
Permanent Secretary Samuel Egban, speaking at a press briefing in Calabar, detailed how the suspects were part of a broader network attempting to exploit the ongoing mass recruitment of council workers across the state.
“The duo were part of a syndicate attempting to tarnish the image of the commission amid the ongoing mass employment of council workers across the state,” Egban explained. He emphasized that the fraudsters were handed over to law enforcement for further investigation, with one suspect slated to appear in court on September 8, 2025, while the other remained detained at the State Housing Police Station.
Egban issued a stern warning: “We are using this (arrest) to sound a note of warning to others that we are after them if they don’t retrace their steps by stopping these illegal activities.”
This incident is far from isolated. It forms part of a much larger, more systemic issue that has plagued Nigeria’s job market for years. According to Darlington Eyo, chairperson of the commission, public complaints about employment racketeers are rampant. Job seekers are often coerced into paying N500,000 to N600,000 for spots in local government service.
Eyo highlighted the commission’s commitment to transparency, stating, “Even the child of nobody has the opportunity of being employed.” He assured the public that safeguards were in place to expose fraudsters, adding, “The good thing is that anyone who patronises such a person will be fished out, as we have a system in place that will expose them.”
The Cross River commission’s findings from a recent audit exposed 800 ghost workers siphoning public funds, illustrating how fraud undermines public trust in legitimate hiring processes.
These revelations underscore a far-reaching national epidemic where fake job syndicates have become a multi-billion-naira industry. According to a 2025 report by BusinessDay NG, thousands of Nigerians fall victim to such scams each year, suffering not only financial losses but also psychological trauma and stalled careers.
The EFCC’s data from 2023 paints a disturbing picture: employment scams ranked as the second most dangerous type of fraud globally, with a 54.2 percent surge in reports compared to the previous year. Median losses per victim reached $1,995, far exceeding the average scam loss of $100.
In Nigeria alone, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) reported over 80,658 bank customers scammed in 2023, with fraud losses climbing 496.96 percent over five years to N59.33 billion, much of it tied to employment-related deceptions.
Social engineering tactics, often masquerading as job offers, affected 62,901 cases, resulting in N8.03 billion in losses. These scams prey on the vulnerable, using promises of lucrative government and private sector positions to lure in desperate job seekers.
The psychological toll of these scams on Nigeria’s youth is profound. With youth unemployment standing at 53 percent, the job market is a powder keg of desperation. A 2025 Kaspersky report revealed a 66 percent rise in password stealers and a 53 percent increase in spyware in Nigeria during the first half of the year, many of which were linked to phishing via fake job portals.
Victims, often aged 18-35, who make up 60 percent of Africa’s population, are left not only financially devastated but also vulnerable to identity theft, leading to a severe erosion of confidence in the job market. Many abandon their job searches altogether, leaving them even more susceptible to long-term poverty and frustration.
The stories of individuals like Bright and Nafisat further illustrate the personal devastation of these scams. Bright, a businessman in Abuja, shared his brother’s heartbreaking ordeal. “I was once a victim. My brother, having finished university, was eager to get a good job. He came to me one day and told me he found a customs job that would cost N1.2 million to secure. I tried my best to raise the money for him. He paid it to the person who introduced him to the job, but when we waited for approval, nothing came of it. The job was a scam, and my brother ended up returning to join my business.”
The financial strain was immense, forcing the family to divert resources meant for other needs. Bright’s advice is clear: “People should be very careful when giving money to anyone offering job opportunities.”
Nafisat Abdullah, another Abuja resident, shared a similar story involving a navy job. “I was looking for navy work, and my dad’s friend connected us to a man who said we would need to pay N180,000 for the job. After paying, the man stopped reaching out to us, and when we called, he didn’t pick up. We were scammed.” Nafisat’s advice is straightforward: “My advice for people looking for jobs is not to pay money. Go out there and search for jobs yourself.”
These personal stories are not unique but mirror a broader trend of job scams documented by the EFCC and other bodies. In 2023, the EFCC arrested fraudsters who posed as State House staff, scamming job seekers of N22 million in one case alone.
A 2024 Bulwark Intelligence report noted a 54.2 percent surge in global employment scam reports, with Nigeria’s youth facing an increasing burden. As of Q3 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a 5.0 percent unemployment rate for youth, up from 4.2 percent in Q2.
The fallout from these scams is not just financial but also psychological, as victims suffer depression, loss of self-worth, and social disillusionment. The 2023 NIBSS data showed that N59.33 billion was lost to fraud, including employment-related schemes.
Efforts to combat these scams are gaining traction, with the EFCC continuing its operations against fraudsters. In Cross River, the commission’s streamlined process and its purge of 800 ghost workers are steps in the right direction, but the scale of the problem demands more.
Nationally, the 2023 FITC report pegged fraud losses at N159 billion since 2020, urging vigilance in a country where job scams are rampant.
Despite these efforts, underreporting remains a significant issue, with many victims too ashamed to come forward, as noted in a 2024 Bulwark Intelligence study.
From the streets of Abuja to the offices in Calabar, the voices of victims like Bright and Nafisat echo a call for caution. Nigerians must verify job offers, avoid upfront payments, and seek legitimate channels. As the country grapples with a 33 percent overall unemployment rate and a youth bulge demanding action, dismantling these syndicates requires not just arrests but systemic reforms transparent hiring processes, youth skills programs, and robust awareness campaigns.
Only through these efforts can the dreams of Nigeria’s youth escape the clutches of deception, fostering a workforce capable of driving sustainable growth and transforming the nation.
