Cameroon: How travel agents dupe desperate Cameroonians, leave them stranded in Nigeria 

An investigative report by Nfor Hanson Nchanji

Ruth (not her real name) would have been dead by now if she had taken the option of taking away her life. Her ordeal in the hands of travel agents in Nigeria was the saddest page in her history- a period she will never forget!

Initially, Ruth wanted to spill everything months after getting in contact with CNA, but she had no inspiration to do so. From her voice and the words, she typed, it felt like someone carrying a huge mountain on her shoulder.

“I’ll tell you this someday when I am in the right frame of mind.” She said this repeatedly.

Months later, as Ruth struggled to pick up her broken pieces of life, she summoned courage and opened, up to tell her story- how she spent close to six months in Nigeria to unsuccessfully pursue a visa to Canada that was initially set for a few weeks, according to her agent.

Ruth was not alone in this journey. Recently, there have been several reports on how travel agents will promise “heaven and earth” to desperate Cameroonians, just to leave them stranded in Nigeria.

“I met tens of Cameroonians in Abuja, Nigeria, and was told that hundreds are currently waiting for their visas from the hands of their agents.” One woman said but noted that she did not collect any contact.

Among these people who are fighting to have a greener pasture, going for academic purposes or simply adventure, was Ruth.

“Many Cameroonians embarked on the same boat as myself, and most of us lodged at the same place. There was a continuous influx of Cameroonians to Abuja, both Anglophones and Francophones and the experiences and ordeals we faced were all the same. Some people went through the worst, especially when they had to struggle and live through sexual advances made toward them. There was never a time that we did not hear that people were not coming, to travel. The same things they had been feeding us with, are the same things that were fed to those who came later and those that followed. We faced the same challenges.”

In September 2021, Ruth decided to embark on this journey to Canada, not through the desert but with the help of a visa agent in Cameroon’s economic capital, Douala. Not knowing that this would be the biggest scam in her life, her parents and siblings decided to support the initiative.

This is how Ruth and her family went to the business site owned by a man who prides himself as “Doki Master”, meaning he masters how to compile travel documents. Lando Asongayi a native of Lebialem Division, South West region, who owns a travel agency located in Bonaberie, Douala 4 Council area.

“My transaction with them started in September 2021, when a few family members and I visited the office of “Doki Master”, Lando Asongayi, opposite Santa Lucia Bonaberi, Immeuble Notaire. Initially, one of my family members made an appointment with him, but when we got there, he was not present, and we were directed by the secretary to speak with his Assistant, Mr. Terrence, who gave us information about several travel lines that were opened at that time, and the most preferred which he advised was Canada. We decided to proceed with the idea, and he told us that it was going to cost between FCFA 4.5-5million. He gave us insights and advised that seeking asylum was the best means of entering Canada at that time and that he was preparing the same process for his family. He demanded a couple of documents and passport-sized photos which I immediately gave him. He told us that the process was not going to take long and that we could be called up at any time to travel. My family paid the first installment of 3 million Francs and agreed that the rest would be added when we got to Nigeria, since we had to be quarantined there for a week, get the rest of our documents, and then proceed to Barbados, after which the people who wish to stay there and work, could do so, while the others who wished to proceed could board a flight or boat to Canada and declare asylum upon arrival.”

Ruth narrated to me the genesis of her struggles with the travel agents. She also said at the end of the whole saga, they spent exactly FCFA 4.9 million (I saw the receipts and Mobile Money Transfer Screenshots are proofs)

Traveling to Nigeria was not going to be easy either! The agents know that taking flights is risky and costly. Firstly, it will not be easy convincing Airport Officers that you are taking dozens of Cameroonians to Nigeria so they can get visas and travel to Canada or elsewhere to seek Asylum, secondly, they have already squeezed enough money from the “clients” and will not ask for more.

Ruth recounted that they traveled through the waters via Idenau in the South West region, a ‘terrible experience’

“In January 2022, I and others embarked on this journey alongside Mr Terrence Nji. It was along the way that I discovered that it was actually his first time taking his clients to Nigeria himself, which is contrary to what he told us before. He made us believe that he had been the one seeing off his clients to all the countries they were going to. I met new people on the way, and we boarded a boat at Idenau together, under Mr Terrence’s leadership. We did some currency exchanges at Idenau to cover our boat fare and to get money ready for our one-week lodging (quarantine, while they finished working on our documents) in Abuja. We paid for life jackets, yellow fever cards, and some other fares that had to be handed over to Immigration Offices on the sea. The journey by sea lasted for about four hours, and we got to a small fish village in Akwa-Ibom State, called Ibaka. We then took a road journey to Uyo, for about three hours, where we boarded a flight to Abuja. All these were paid from our pockets, and not from any initial deposits any of us made hitherto. We, later on, met others who traveled from Cameroon by road, through Kalabar and also boarded flights from there to Abuja.”

The Dangerous Journey to Nigeria

Traveling to Nigeria and passing through Idenau entails traveling via the sea. Once you’re at Idenau, the first thing to do is exchange your CFA currency for Naira, after which you pay the boat fare and yellow fever card, not forgetting the rental life jacket. Once you’ve settled all these, you take your position in the boat, I was told.

“In my case, about 15 of us boarded the boat, 3 travelers and Mr Terrence our guide. The rest were people who were traveling for business.” Ruth revealed.

“That was my first time going through that experience. I admit that it was a risky venture because people have died via such travel means a lot. Through the journey, there are control stops too, like on the roads, and immigration points that we had to settle.”

Hell and misery in Abuja

In January 2022, the team arrived in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. They met other Cameroonians who embarked on the journey for the same purpose. It is in Abuja that they discovered that the sweet talks back in Cameroon were for them to cough out their hard-earned money to the agents(in most cases, this money is borrowed with the hope that when they travel, they’ll refund their creditors) Things were not the same again, the promises made faded away, the real-life started-the future looked dreary.

“When we got to Abuja, Mr Terrence introduced us to a new set of agents and their team. And it dawned on us that he, Mr Terrence was not the one even running the show. One of the new agents we were introduced to was a Cameroonian who goes by the name Steven Lenya, while the other was a Nigerian called Goodluck Alfred Oshori. Their office was at Lungi Barracks. They promised us that we were only going to be in Nigeria for a week, while they finished processing our documents and we would proceed to Barbados, and then from there those whose route was the US would go their way and those whose was Canada would proceed as well. We all knew that we were going to be in Nigeria for at most nine days.” Ruth told this reporter in a conversation.

While in Abuja waiting for their visas to take the Barbados route, they rented service apartments, joggling from one house to another house, because accommodation is expensive.

“It was very costly, to feed and accommodate ourselves, sometimes, we ran out of money and had to call relatives or friends back home to send us financial support. There was a time when we pleaded that those agents assist us and they chipped in something that paid for a day or two, and the burden fell back on us. The one week we were told we would stay there for, gradually progressed into 5 months for some people, into 6 months for others, into 7 for some, and longer for others. We lived in different areas, some at Wuse, Nasarawa, and other areas within town that I cannot clearly remember.”

While in Services Apartments where they were allowed to cook, they usually bought raw food items and cooked or bought bread and “moimoi”, a local delicacy made with ground beans.

A few times, the agents will be generous to take them out for meals.

“When in areas where we cannot cook, we will either buy biscuits and juice or other snacks and eat.”

This went on for a while, without concrete assurance from the agents. Visa was not forthcoming, while others who had stayed longer before the arrival of Ruth, had traveled but returned to Cameroon because they either went through Turkey and life became hard, or others became impatient- from one week promise, they were counting months in Abuja with no hope of traveling nor get a refund- not even their passports.

“When we got into the second week of our stay in Nigeria, we were already getting worried, because the agents were not giving us any answers, so we decided to ask, and they told us that changes on the routes we were supposed to take were being made. Instead of going directly to Barbados as planned, we had to go through Cuba, with tourists’ visas, and from there, to Barbados. We chilled because we were hopeful that the changes would not take long to be made. Another week passed and we were told that we could not go through Cuba because the tourist visas would only bring us back to Nigeria, because we could not proceed to another country from Cuba, with tourist visas. Time went by while they kept looking for other routes. We were soon informed that we had to pass through Turkey, then to Iran, and from there to Barbados or one of those countries around there. There was no certainty in their words anymore, and everyone was getting frustrated with hearing promises that were never kept. It was from one story to another, and then to the issue of flight tickets, my family sent over a million again since they had not completed the money. We gathered the money and gave them, and continued hoping, even when all we received were promises and stories that stopped making sense,” Ruth narrated in tears.

No way to travel

At this point, it became clear that this was a well-organized scam by predators walking in suits, using sweet words to strangulate poor Cameroonians and dry their pockets. As they kept changing the routes, it dawned on the victims that home was calling their names.

“It was announced to us at a certain point that some people were going to embark on the journey through Turkey and Iran, while others would follow. We were going to leave in groups. Some traveled and got stuck in Turkey and returned to Cameroon, some refused to travel because the route appeared to be very complicated and could land them in trouble if they embarked, while others decided to go back home after the situation became completely hopeless for them. Everybody made the decision that suited them at that time, and based on the personal experiences they had in that place. People kept streaming in to travel, through these same agents, and at this time, some of us could not even hear from Mr Terrence Nji. It was rumored that he had been arrested, while others said he was on the run. Nobody actually had any certainty about what was on the ground. It was painful for us to come this far, get to Turkey, Iran, or for those who stayed back in Nigeria.”

Ruth like many others decided to go back to Cameroon, after spending months in Nigeria in the hands of agents. At this point, it was everyone for himself and God for them all. Her family members were devastated after spending such a huge sum of money in the midst of conflict that has rocked the English-speaking regions of Cameroon since 2016 and made economic activities almost impossible.

The armed conflict between Separatists and Government forces has led to the death of thousands of civilians and military. This has also caused a massive exodus of Anglophone Cameroonians now living as IDPs in Francophone regions, while over 50, 000 are living in Nigeria as Refugees. The war has caused many to flee their homes for safety while others have taken it as an opportunity to embark on economic immigration due to hardship caused by the conflict.

“It was very devastating for them to handle because sacrifices had been made from every end, and everyone was of course very hopeful that their lives were going to get better through this endeavor. People had gone into debt to support these endeavors, they looked forward to it with a lot of hope, and their hopes were dashed away. Let us not even talk about the traumatic and life-changing impact that this had on us, who actually embarked on this journey. It is a story for another day, yet an experience that some might never fully recover from.”

Ruth’s family has not gotten a refund, it is a dead-end and their FCFA 4.9 million, about USD 7,737 gone into the pockets of travel agents.

Some of the receipts Ruth’s family paid before departure into the account of Nji Terence who said he was an agent affiliated with Global Travel Consultancy

“Our decision was to let go finally because the few times my family and I tried to negotiate for refunds, it proved abortive. We never got a dime back, neither did we get any responses, and we found out it was going to be a futile mission if proceeded. No updates, the money and some important documents were never refunded. Some chose to make peace with it and move on while others are still trying to pursue these agents for refunds.”

I contacted the Global Travel Consultancy founded by Lando Asonganyi, popularly called “Doki Master”, to respond to these accusations. After several failed attempts, I decided to write an open invitation online for victims to send their stories about the travel scams. A few minutes later, Lando Asongayi, reached out to CNA with another number, saying,

“Thank you, good day, Global Travel Consultancy is Situated in Bonaberi Douala opposite Santa Lucia at the immeuble du notaire, And Carrefour Roi Bell Ancienne route Bonaberi, And Carrefour Damas Yaoundé can send your team there for Further investigation Thank you.”

Lando Asongayi, founder and CEO of Global Travel Consultancy ( A screenshot from one of his videos)

But I insisted that this was not a matter of sending a team to interview him, since we are an online media, and he has responded online, it would be best to spare five minutes of his time and respond.

After several hesitations and knowing that I provided undeniable facts concerning one of the agents, Nji Terence, who used his stamps and receipts to cash out from victims, he decided to talk.

He began by saying “…If there is anyone I have scammed or abandoned in Nigeria, let the person come up… I have been doing this job for more than 7 years and I believe your post will clear the air about me. Let my applicants talk for me.”

“What concerns Terence is that there was a certain victim who dragged Terence to SED (Defence State Secretariat). My secretary and myself were summoned to SED. Mr Terence was just an agent who brought clients…After he met Mr. Terence, he gave him money…they have been dealing behind for one year or two. A time came when I noticed that Mr Terence was doing things behind my back and using my receipt book, I arrested him and said he will not do things in my office again.” Mr Asonganyi continued.

But I reminded him that we are not talking about the SED case. There are some Cameroonians who were taken to Nigeria by Nji Terence in January 2022, but the majority got frustrated and returned to Cameroon after spending millions of FCFA.

Nji Terence, ( left) who took the victims to Nigeria- standing with Lando Asongayi, with another agent ( A screenshot from a video which they shared on social media celebrated a milestone)

“You can ask them that during the Six months (in Nigeria) did they ever see me? When they were in Nigeria, was I even aware that they were going to Nigeria? I was not even there with them; they had never met me. So, this is strange to me.” Asonganyi denied knowing those who were taken to Nigeria by Nji Terence. He also said he doesn’t know Steve Lenya, another Cameroonian who worked with Nji Terence in Nigeria.

“The receipt having my stamp was forged, you guys should concentrate and look for Mr Terence…We have no conversation together, I have never spoken with them. They going to Nigeria, I was never aware, they being in Nigeria, I was never aware, I have never met any of them. Mr. Terence was an agent and could bring clients…they should investigate and arrest Mr. Terence…My secretary did not touch that money; my secretary did not sign that receipt” Lando Asonganyi reiterated.

On October 30, 2023, I reached out to Steve Lenya, the agent in Nigeria, for comments, but he read and ignored my message. I made a follow-up the next day, but he still did not reply. I wanted to find out about allegations of sexual harassment, by this victim ( Ruth) who said Steve Lenya tried sleeping with her to no avail. Until he started using it to threaten her that if she did not give in, her process would be futile. Mr Lenya did not reply until this report was published.

Ruth said at some point when her family asked Steve for a refund, he said, “She has the knife and the yam, she knows what he wants”.

Steve Lenya, the master planner in Abuja accused of sexual harassment and non-refund of money sent to him ( picture taken from his social media handle)

Steve Lenya was allegedly living with some victims in Service Apartments and continued to move out from one apartment to another with the victims. I wanted to also find out from him why someone living in Nigeria would be perching with his clients in Apartment rooms.

I was unable to get to Nji Terence, as it is alleged, he is in hiding.

On August 17, 2022, CNA reported that some 30 Cameroonians were stranded in Nigeria after they were made to travel for their visas. A certain Jimmy, a Nigerian-based Cameroonian was at the centre of the scam.

Nigerian based Cameroonian accused of defrauding more than 30 with fake visas – Cameroon News Agency

The Nigerian visa line seems to be a big farm where predators go and snatch their own share of money, Cameroonians are hoping that such scams can be checked by the government or the High Commission in Nigeria.

This beautiful sunset picture was taken by a CNA reporter, behind the Jabi Lake Mall, Abuja’s main shopping Mall. This picture depicts nature’s beauty but can also mean sunset to travel dreams of Cameroonians who rely on travel agents rather than taking the route to Embassies.

While some are afraid of attacks from the agents, others think speaking will only rekindle those sad memories they spent in Nigeria. As for Ruth, she has told her story and is relieved there was someone she could talk to and tell the world what these agents are doing with Cameroonians in Nigeria.