CBEX: Nigerians fear savings lost as investment app freezes them out

Social media is being used by irate Nigerians to vent about being locked out of their accounts on the online financial platform CBEX.

Videos of themselves sobbing have been shared online by people who expressed their worry that their money was lost and their inability to withdraw their assets.

In the southwest city of Ibadan, some irate clients looted a CBEX office, removing chairs, air conditioners, and a solar panel in the process. CBEX has not yet made any public remarks.

The business had assured investors that their money would double each month. Nigeria is going through difficult economic times right now, and many people are looking desperately for ways to increase their income.

Speaking to BBC Pidgin, an investor named Ola expressed his anxiety of losing 450,000 naira ($280; £210).

"I was ready to withdraw all my investment just last week but my friend told me to be patient and wait - and now it has crashed," said Ola.

Similar experiences have been posted online by numerous others, one of whom described losing sixteen thousand dollars.

The issue was initially discovered over the weekend, but when Monday arrived and many were still unable to access their money, the ire reached a boiling point.

CBEX responded to several investors who complained on the private messaging app Telegram.

They were informed that a hack was the cause of the issue and that it will be fixed shortly.

A BBC request for comment was not yet answered by Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (Sec), which oversees the investment sector.

Some people see the scenario to be reminiscent of the heartbreaking events in 2016, when MMM, another well-known financial fraud, halted its transactions.

Within 30 days, members were expected to get a 30% return on their investment. According to its founders, it had up to three million subscribers before collapsing, having begun in Nigeria in November 2015.