The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has warned Nigerians against a fraudulent online investment advertisement allegedly using the images of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and Dangote Group Chairman, Aliko Dangote, to attract unsuspecting investors.
ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, who disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday said the advertisement was circulating on Facebook and promoting a purported “Naira Refinery Investment Fund” with promises of unusually high returns.
Fadolapo said preliminary investigations by the Council indicated that the advertisement was computer- or AI-generated and designed to deceive members of the public.
He cautioned Nigerians against confusing the purported investment scheme with the Dangote Refinery Initial Public Offering currently being undertaken in the Nigerian capital market.
According to him, neither Tinubu, Oyedele nor Dangote authorised the use of their images or participated in promoting the purported investment fund.
Fadolapo further disclosed that the advertisement was never submitted to the Advertising Standards Panel for vetting and approval, as required under the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022.
He said the growing use of artificial intelligence to produce convincing but unauthorised advertisements had created an additional challenge for regulators and consumers, particularly in detecting deceptive marketing and financial claims.
The ARCON boss explained that Nigeria’s pre-exposure advertising vetting system was designed to ensure that advertisements are truthful, legal, decent and socially responsible, while helping to curb misinformation, disinformation and unsubstantiated claims.
He warned that the Council would pursue appropriate enforcement measures, including legal action, against platform owners, advertisers and advertising agencies found to have been involved in exposing unethical advertisements.
Fadolapo also disclosed that ARCON had deployed a special monitoring and enforcement task force to track advertisements across digital and other platforms and identify non-compliant campaigns targeting the Nigerian market.
He urged Nigerians to exercise caution when confronted with online investment offers promising unusually high or unrealistic returns, particularly advertisements that appear to carry the endorsement of public officials or prominent business figures.
The Director-General further appealed to members of the public to assist the Council’s monitoring efforts by reporting advertisements considered deceptive, unethical, illegal or based on unrealistic promises.
“The era of false and misleading advertising, advertisement and marketing communication is over,” Fadolapo said, urging stakeholders and advertising practitioners to uphold responsible advertising practices.
Members of the public can report suspected deceptive advertisements to ARCON’s complaint desk on 0805 089 9900.
