“Please, please disregard any unsolicited e-mails from Nigeria that promises job, offers you cash or a contract,” says Safai Ibrahim Usman, Minister for Economic and Commercial, High Commission of Nigeria in India, New Delhi. “If you are in doubt about any offer, write to us [at the High Commission]. We should be able to confirm if the offer you received is genuine,” he added.
Addressing members of the Confederation of Indian Industry at the third Nigeria–India Business and Investment Forum, he said that three most popular scams that originated out of Nigeria related to offer for jobs, government contracts and online lotteries.
The official clarified that Nigerian government did not advertise details of contracts and tenders on the internet. “All federal tenders, both international and local, are published in a bi-monthly journal called ‘Tender Journal’ and also the leading newspapers in Nigeria,” he said and added that most of these bogus contract e-mails pertained to the Niger Delta Development. On the e-mail claiming that the receiver of the mail won an online lottery, he made it clear that no Nigerian Bank or government body ran an online lottery. “It is the same with job offers. Once you accept the offer, then, they will write to you saying that you should pay an amount, say $ 1500, as visa and residency permit fee,” he said and dissuaded people from sending the money.
The Minister said that all visa for Indian nationals residing in India can only be issued from the New Delhi High Commission. The visa fee (both for single and multiple-entry visas) was $ 243.
The Minister said that it was impossible for the Government of Nigeria to eradicate the menace of bogus e-mails primarily because many of the e-mails did not originate from an IP address in Nigeria. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria had succeeded in shutting down many internet cafes that allowed their facilities to be used for sending such mass bogus e-mails, he said.
The Principal Secretary, Industries, Rajeev Ranjan said that gullible persons, mostly out of greed or foolhardiness fell prey to such cheating. J.N. Amrolia, chairman, sub-committee on International Business Promotion and Networking, CII, detailed the strengths of Tamil Nadu and said that both India and Nigeria could learn a lot from each other in various fields of activity.
