By Michael Ifeanyi Oduah
In 2020, Miebi Bribena, a Bayelsa-born business man conceived the idea of a multipurpose cooperative society called Baraza.
The idea was to receive financial deposits from the public, waving and dangling mouth-watering interests ranging from 15 to 25 percent monthly; claiming that Baraza was trading with investors’ fund in forex, in interest payments far above conventional commercial banks.
The 15 and 25 percent interest offered was quite tempting in a state being ravaged by high poverty index.
Customers did not only invest their hard-earned money but also believed that the chief executive officer of the platform, Miebi Bribena, widely known as a pastor in the cerebral Christ Embassy Church in Yenagoa, would guarantee the safety of their investment. This toga was exactly what attracted the public to the investment platform and secured investors confidence in him. Nevertheless, a good number of people had strong misgivings about the business offer because of the collapse of such platforms in the past like the Umana-Umana saga in Port Harcourt, MBA, where huge funds of investors were trapped.
He operated for barely one year circle allegedly using old investors money to entice and pay new investors to attract more people to the platform.
Like the prophets of old, those who expressed doubt were laughing that it was a question of time; that it would certainly crash and that the day of judgment was simply reckoning.
In March 2021, the first danger signal became ominous when the management announced suspension of further intakes to what it described plans to regularize existing investors.
In the same March 2021, it halted the monthly payment of 25% returns and further announced a three month suspension of payment to allow it to recover.
The signal of a crashing cooperative society was becoming clear, with billions of investor’s funds trapped. It became also evident when persons living with disabilities, who invested N11 million, stormed the Baraza head office along Melford Okilo Road by Otiotio Road Junction and stopped free flow of movement, chanting songs of protest, demanding refund of their money.
To assuage the worries and increasing tension in 2021, the CEO made at least five to six public assurances through widely circulated media updates on the matter on live podcasts, but the co-operative never kept any of the promises.
Rather, it became obvious that the chief executive was allegedly simply buying time to leave the country sensing that the business had crashed, while investors were abandoned to their fate as all the promises were serially breached. This is where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, waded in by declaring him wanted in 2022.
However, his lawyers approached the Federal High Court in Yenagoa where they argued that disputes arising from cooperatives and their members are civil and should be handled by the cooperative tribunal or high court and not EFCC. Beside that, the EFFC Act, Section 46, says EFCC cannot interfere in purely civil contracts.
They also argued that Baraza is registered under Cooperative Societies Act of Bayelsa State, not as a Bank or Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, investment company. So EFCC declaring him wanted was vacated by the court and he wriggled out of the huge financial loss suffered by investors on mere technicality. In other words, he successfully and smartly turned what appeared to be criminal fraud into a civil cooperative dispute.
Five years down the line, the over 40, 000 investors whose investments disappeared in the Baraza co-operative scheme, described by some as a ponzi scheme, are still suffering from the consequences of its collapse. The substance of the case, which is the loss of investment by hapless depositors, has not been addressed by the company; nor punished by appropriate authorities. Some borrowed the money they invested, hoping to benefit from the enticing 25% monthly interest and pay back their loans. This ended in financial disaster.
The fact, however, remains that Bribena and his Baraza Cooperative Society wrecked innocent lives and should be held accountable for the fraudulent scheme under appropriate laws of the country, be it state or federal. No one should be allowed to get away with such scheme that has ruined so many lives in a country operating under the rule of law. The average citizens should have the confidence that the laws of their country would protect them from being duped by clever business promoters.
Under untold pains, some of the hapless victims were sent to their untimely graves. Some allegedly committed suicide because they could not live with the consequences of the loss. Others were plunged into emotional disorder, causing socio-economic anomie in Bayelsa, Abuja, Port Harcourt where Baraza had branches.
Meanwhile, Bribena is allegedly on the run as his victims seek refund of their investments, said to be in billions of Naira. Reports have it that he is taking refuge in Ghana for fear of attack by casualties of the failed business.
A Ponzi Scheme is more or less a business that robs Peter to pay Paul, as returns to old investors are paid strictly from capital contributed by new investors, not from profit. It requires continuous inflow of new investors to survive. When inflow stops, it crashes, and that is the reason SEC, CBN and EFCC call it ‘illegal deposits and unlicensed fund management’, because it does not disclose Risk. Many say Baraza was one of such.
Moreover, it is also called Ponzi Scheme because the promoter claims to be investing in a real business such as Forex, Real Estate, Crypto with promises of fixed guaranteed returns. In reality there is no profitable business generating those returns.
Also, a Ponzi Scheme is a fraudulent investment scheme or illegal fund management under the guise of a cooperative society. This is why the court victory of the promoter (s) is widely believed to be temporary relief for him because in the fullness of time he will definitely contend with the three critical elements that classify Baraza Cooperative Society as a Ponzi Scheme under the Nigeria Law in the area of Investments and Securities Act , CBN Act, EFCC Act, that have to do with false representation of investments, no real backing business but simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. This is the legal reason Baraza, MBA Forest, LOOM and MMM, fall within the bracket of Ponzi Schemes that make false promises of 10-25% monthly guaranteed.
Curiously, five years after the platform crashed and Bribena allegedly said to be on the run, he is trying, from his hiding place, to find his voice for relevance. He is looking for excuses and resorting to name dropping, particularly in attacks on the Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri, his wife and first lady of the state, Dr. Gloria Diri, and a principal appointee of the government, Director of Transport and Special Duties, Prince Lucky Alex Youbogha, who have become his target of attack through the social media.
First, he alleged that the Nembe – Brass bridge had collapsed due to bad construction and government inability for proper consultancy.
It is baffling when and how Miebi Bribena with his moral baggage became a social critic overnight while taking refuge in Ghana arising from his failed cooperative society. He has not seen the Nembe – Brass Road since construction commenced because he is on the run from the state. This is a project that has received widespread commendation from Bayelsans and beyond for the bold initiative. It is a project that had been in the drawing board for over six years until Diri made the construction a reality for the benefit of the riverine communities in Nembe and Brass. Just as the Commissioner for Information aptly spoke few days ago when she and Commissioner for Works visited the construction site, ‘‘This is someone living in Ghana and he’s yet to see the project; carrying out propaganda against the government is quite unfortunate and mischievous.”
He also made scathing comments against the wife of the governor, accusing her of abandoning him when his scandalous business crashed.
According to him, “Gloria Diri made me Patron of the Gloria Diri Foundation where I donated some millions for her, but when the Baraza saga happened, she abandoned me, forgetting the donations she got from Baraza, very wicked people in government house.”
On Prince Lucky Alex Youbogha, he described him as “an illiterate who is dull and uneducated but one of those who caused the Baraza downfall”.
Interestingly, he is yet to establish evidence how they contributed to the crash of the ill-fated Baraza business.
So, it is obvious he is resorting to a smear campaign against the Diri government, his wife and Prince Lucky Alex Youbogha, for what some allegedly claim has to do with been denied government patronage.
As a matter of fact, it is ridiculous for him to accuse the government of abandoning him as if Diri, his wife and Prince Youbogha are shareholders in Baraza Cooperative Society and owe him a duty to share the risk.
The issue of his claim that Dr. Gloria Diri abandoned him having donated freely to her foundation is laughable too. Where is it done in the world that you donate freely to a Non – Governmental Organization and you need the NGO’s assistance when you run into troubled waters for allegedly mismanaging your business into insolvency.
In civilized climes, such mismanagers would be tried, and if convicted, be barred from holding public office and cooling their feet in a correctional centre.
On his attack on Prince Lucky Youbogha, it is alleged that Bribena, who happens to be a relative of Prince Youbogha, expected him to help him talk to the governor to facilitate a contract worth billions of naira, but he could not because it is at the discretion of the governor. Prince Lucky Youbogha, according those who know him, is a fine gentleman, highly enlightened with a highly rated reputation in pubic service. He is said to have distinguished himself as a dependable politician with core values of respect for people. He has earned public confidence particularly in his home Sagbama Local Government Area.
One thing is clear, the Baraza promoter is simply trying to cause distraction to evade public eyes from the damage he has caused families, who are yet to recover from the shock and emotional disorder he caused them.
The earlier he retraces his steps and show remorse and do the needful by putting in place measures for restitution the better.
If he was honest, why did he not convert the cooperative society to Micro Finance Bank and register with the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Cooperation to protect depositors’ fund? He knew that he had a less-than-holy agenda, that was the reason he did not deem it necessary to put in place measures for risk management.
Therefore, the Baraza scheme was not only ill conceived, but a deliberate disguise to scam its victims with the endpoint of structural failure, driven by mismanagement, operational deficiency, incompetence and dishonesty.
Though Bribena he had severally assured his victims that he meant well for them, contrary to his promises none has been fulfilled as the mass of victims are still in pain.
With the deposits of innocent people, he overnight became a philanthropist, donating huge funds belonging to depositors to social matters.
Also, he should simply leave Governor Douye Diri, his wife, Gloria Diri and Lucky Alex Youbegha out of his business and take full responsibility for his act of commission.
Just as one of the victims, Douye Jeffery Asu aptly wrote in a press statement “Pastor Miebi Bribena, why are you in isolation in Ghana following the Baraza saga? As a pastor you should understand the importance of accountability, honestly … those you owe are waiting (for) you to address your outstanding obligations including me, Douye Jeffery Asu. Playing hanky panky media game and fighting the government and insulting officials, that trick won’t work.”
It is now public knowledge that he is the architect of his misfortune and ill-fated ponzi scheme which he has transformed himself into becoming ponzi scheme Kingpin. For once he should show remorse and apologize to the whole world and to his victims in particular by turning a new leaf and stop his mischievous smear campaign against innocent persons, as the law of retribution justice is real.
● Oduah, a public interest analyst and victim of the Baraza saga wrote this piece from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He can be reached at Ifyoduah99@gmail.com