{
  "id": 7449513,
  "title": "‘47 applicants defrauded of N51.8m in fake C’River LG recruitment’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/47-applicants-defrauded-of-n51-8m-in-fake-criver-lg-recruitment",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T02:11:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Trust",
    "slug": "daily-trust",
    "url": "https://dailytrust.com/47-applicants-defrauded-of-n51-8m-in-fake-criver-lg-recruitment/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Forty-seven job seekers in Cross River State's 2024/2025 recruitment exercise reportedly lost N51.8 million in a fraudulent scheme, according to the state's Local Government Service Commission chairman, Eyo Nsa Ekpo. In an interview on Sparkling FM's Let’s Talk Nigeria program, Ekpo detailed the tactics used to swindle the applicants, who were coerced into paying between N100,000 and N1.5 million for fake government positions. Some higher-level candidates reportedly had to pay up to N1.3 million or N1.5 million. Ekpo's investigation panel discovered that the fraudsters provided fraudulent employment letters to the victims after receiving their payments. The chairman also claimed that some officials manipulated the recruitment process to favor their relatives, some of whom were not even residents of the state. After hearing testimonies from the victims, the panel verified their evidence, leading to the identification of those involved in the scheme for potential prosecution and the imposition of sanctions. The fraudulent recruitment exercise was canceled by the state government, but 821 of the applicants were retained. A new, transparent recruitment process will commence in two weeks, with the names of successful candidates and the retained workers to be publicly released.",
  "summary": "Forty-seven applicants who sought employment in the controversial 2024/2025 Cross River State local government recruitment exercise were allegedly defrauded of N51.8 million, the chairman of the State Local Government Service Commission, Eyo Nsa Ekpo, has said. Ekpo disclosed this on Monday during an interview on Sparkling FM’s Let’s Talk Nigeria programme monitored by our correspondent. […]",
  "key_points": [
    "47 job seekers defrauded of N51.8m in fake C'River LG recruitment",
    "Applicants coerced to pay N100,000 to N1.5m for fake government positions",
    "Fraudsters provided fake employment letters, officials favored relatives"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The cancellation of the fraudulent recruitment exercise and initiation of a new, transparent process aims to restore public trust, but 47 applicants have already lost a total of N51.8 million.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}