By Maria Famakinwa

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We extend our deepest sympathy to you on the unfortunate death of Olawale Paul Babatunde with phone no: *………..* May his criminal soul rest in hell [HICASH-CASHBUS]”.

When Mrs Mary Ayeloja got the above message on her phone regarding her younger brother, she believed the message and panicked. She began to call other members of the family and they too confirmed that they got such a message. However, when they called their brother, he was hale and hearty.

He then told them that it was the credit facility that he took a loan from that had been harassing him by sending terrible messages to him and others on his phone contact.

The worsening economic downturn and attendant hunger have pushed many citizens to embrace digital money lenders, with many loan sharks targeting poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

The Digital Money Lenders (DMLs) which offer instant soft loans are seen as a way out for low-income earners since it is devoid of the bureaucracy associated with traditional banking halls.

However, findings revealed that after cajoling customers to press the offer button for the loan and this is done, the amount that would be displayed in the said customer’s account would be different from the initial agreed amount with stringent terms and conditions of payment attached.

Sadly enough, the majority of these loan sharks which are said to be owned by foreigners are operating illegally in the country. Findings revealed that there are currently 215 fully approved digital lenders registered with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). However, there are over 100 unlicensed online loan platforms freely operating and most are notorious for alleged exploitation and abuse of the privacy rights of Nigerians. This is because many people borrow to feed or settle other loans elsewhere, the rate of default has become very high and the debt recovery mechanism is harsh and uncensored, leading to glaring cases of breaches in the data privacy rights of Nigerians.

This was the case in the year 2022 when a microloan company allegedly declared defaulters dead, designing and circulating the obituaries of such persons to family and friends through their WhatsApp contacts. One of them, Mr Azuwuike Chinedu Achiever, shared his experience with a loan company on social media. He said he had defaulted on his repayment plan for five days and the next thing he saw was his obituary. Another customer whose obituary was printed and posted to her contacts with the caption “Gone Too Soon” was Victoria Eyo Ekpo, after she failed to pay the N15,000 she borrowed. She said: “ This is what Deloan (app) sent to me. I will never pay because they said I was dead and posted my obituary. Since a dead person couldn’t pay the debt, I have decided not to pay. They called my mum and insulted her. May God help us.”

Some citizens who had fallen victims to online loan sharks shared their terrible experiences with The Hope. A salary earner, Mrs Dunsi Glory, described her experience with online money lenders as regrettable and traumatic and vowed never to try it again. She said: “I needed money to get some foodstuffs and it was at that time that my phone was “bombarded” with messages from one of the online loan sharks with promises of flexible payment. Shortly after filling in the details on the app, I got a N15,000 loan at a 20 percent interest rate and a maturity date of seven days. The credit relationship went well until I defaulted on the sixth attempt. After they realized that I was not forthcoming with the re-payment, I began to receive multiple text messages from different sources saying they were Recovery Agents, threatening to rubbish my personality and send it to all my contacts.

“They however made real their threat by sending a message to all my contacts thus “Mrs Glory with this phone number and BVN is wanted for selling human parts to her ritual clients and some women’s menstrual pads were found in her home. Report/Reposts to save lives”. Some of my contacts who saw the message forwarded it to me while some who believed it avoided me until I confronted them and explained to them that the message they received about me involving rituals was not true but sent to all my contacts by the company that lent me an online loan in an attempt to force me to pay the money. One of my friends became so angry and offered to trace the office but we discovered that they didn’t have any functional office except through the Internet. I decided not to pay because they’ve done their worst, ” she said.

Sharing a similar experience, a trader who simply gave her name as Iya Ebube, lamented how borrowing an online loan destroyed her reputation and reduced her to nothing. She said: “ If there is anything I find difficult to forgive myself for, is going online for a loan. I needed money urgently and the only option was to approach an online loan. I borrowed N13,000 and they deducted N1,800 upfront. After I made the second repayment, I found it hard to continue and they started sending messages laced with curses to me warning me to pay up before they take the next action. It was after a week when I wanted to pay the third tranche I discovered that an additional N3,600 had been added which they claimed was the interest accrued for defaulting which discouraged me.

“The next message they sent to me was threatening to send my nude picture to all my Whatsapp contacts. The message unsettled me because I had heard someone telling me that they were notorious for getting nude pictures from the internet and putting their borrowers’ faces on it using Photoshop and sending them to the person’s Facebook contacts as the real nude picture of the person just for blackmailing sake. I tried to call them to beg for more time but the number was not connecting.

“As I was running from pillar to post on how to pay the money, my mother called me that my father had been rushed to the hospital after receiving a message that I had been declared wanted for having affairs with dogs which shot up his blood pressure.

“I spoke with my father to calm him down and explained what brought about the message yet, it took him days to recover. The same message was sent to all my contacts including church members, neighbours, friends, and enemies. It was as if my world wanted to collapse. However, I made up my mind not to pay the money again. Three of my friends contributed the money and paid which by then had increased to N22,800. I am yet to recover from the embarrassment. I wish the government would take a drastic step against these online loan sharks because majority of them are Chinese who dare not try such in their country, ” she said.

The experience of a driver, Mr Olu George, from online loan borrowers was different from others as he also appealed to the authority concerned to nip the evil trend in the bud. He said: “I borrowed N20,000 with 20 percent interest which N2,200 was deducted upfront by the loan company with an agreement that I will start payment after two weeks. I was surprised that they started calling me to pay up before the agreed date. I told them that it was not yet time for the payment but they disagreed shouting on me to pay up my debt or else, I would be embarrassed.

“A week after, they sent text messages to me calling me unprintable names and warning me not to dare them. I reminded them of our initial agreement that the payment would start the following week but they refused and insisted that I should pay up my debt. As if that was not enough, they selected some contacts on my WhatsApp which included my pastor, in-laws,  mother, and siblings, and forwarded a message to them that I am being wanted for raping underage girls and trafficking them to other countries.

“My mother collapsed when she read the message and started crying. It took the effort of one of my siblings who also received a similar message to calm my mother because she knew that I borrowed online money and understood their antics. She called me to speak with my mother when she refused to be pacified. I spoke with my mum and debunked all the allegations but she didn’t get herself until they brought her to my house. My pastor also became worried about the text messages before I explained everything to him. He was surprised that anyone could go to such lengths to recover debt in a country that has laws and regulations. I decided not to re-pay the loan waiting for them to call me. When they eventually called me, I told them to go and get the money from those they sent messages to that I was a rapist and child trafficker. They cursed me and I did the same to them. Since then, they never tried to call my line again, ” he said.

Dr. Bayo Fasunwon, a Political Scientist, at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), condemned the idea of using identity theft by online loans to recover money and also condemned the attitude of some borrowers not willing to pay after agreeing to terms and conditions earlier given. He added that most Nigerians approach online loans to cushion the effect of the harsh economy as he called on the government to address why many Nigerians are patronizing them by making easy access to loans available to Nigerians.

His words: “The truth is that Nigerians need soft loans and many who cannot get it resort to online loan sharks whose weapon is induced poverty. When a country enters survival mode as we are forced into, then predators prey on the weak. The rule of the jungle is now being applied by loan sharks through blackmailing which is not just to get loan repayment but to enslave the borrowers. There is an urgent need for government intervention to curb the inhuman treatment they put on borrowers in the name of loan recovery. Any borrower who felt that his/her right has been trampled upon can sue them for damages to get compensation,” he advised.