Online loan apps that many people know as loan sharks are where some Nigerians access money quickly to solve urgent issues.
But if they don’t pay back on time, some of these loan companies send inappropriate messages to all their contacts with their pictures.
This harassment has caused many problems in Nigeria, with some people even losing their jobs because of the embarrassment and disgrace.
However, the head of the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says that will soon be history in the country.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Pidgin where he shed light on that and other issues, the Acting Chairman of FCCPC, Adamu Abdullahi, said it won’t happen again as they have started looking into the matter.
“We don’t agree with that kind of practice because they harass customers, even though it’s not our direct problem. We involved the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), NITDA, EFCC, and Human Rights Commission to form a committee, and we got into the matter.
“As we found out they operate online, with no offices, faces, or managing directors, we approached Google and Apple stores and took down all their apps. We worked through CBN to block all their accounts.”
He mentioned that after blocking their accounts, they met with them and gave them forms to fill out with their details, address, and managing director before giving them the new regulations on how to operate. This way, anytime they receive a complaint from a customer, they’ll block them again.
He explained that for now, they’ve issued warnings and started this project last week Monday.
“They agreed in writing that they won’t have access to people’s contacts and photos again, so if we hear they’ve done it again, we’ll block them straight away,” he concluded.