When they announced that we had been kidnapped, at first, I was just laughing. I was busy looking for a hidden camera because I thought it was a prank. You know, the usual pranks on social media,” Kemi Gbadamosi* recounted her ordeal at the hands of a criminal gang operating the “one chance” scheme and exploiting the weaknesses in Nigeria’s instant payment system.

Within one hour, she was beaten, sexually assaulted, and threatened with rape before her family paid a ransom of N2 million via a POS machine.

Ms Gbadamosi had left her house in the Gbagada area of Lagos State at around 5:30 a.m. on 10 October 2023. That morning, her major concern was to avoid the usual heavy traffic along the route to Lagos Island, where the bank she worked with is located. The events that followed left a scar and changed her forever. Her routine was simple: wake up before 5 a.m. and get to the bus stop before 6 a.m. Any deviation from that timetable could mean spending hours in traffic.

On that fateful day, she arrived at the bus stop on time, standing beside another lady.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/financial-inclusion/766156-how-poor-regulation-of-instant-payment-system-fuels-criminality-in-nigeria.html