The Scam Behind Nigeria’s Silent, Fuelless Generator — EcoTech! 

— Ajifa Solomon 

When Michael Sani* came across an ad for a fuelless, noiseless generator on Facebook, he thought he’d found the answer to his congregation’s power woes. He’d been searching for an affordable generator to power the sound system and lighting in his pastors’ non-denominational Christian fellowship.

Mr Sani, a pastor in Idah, Kogi State, often contends with Nigeria’s unreliable power supply, facing as little as five hours of electricity each week.

That’s when he stumbled upon the EcoTech Fuelless Generator on Facebook. The page claims to be a distributor of fuel-free, noiseless generators based in Vom, a community in Jos South local government area, Plateau State. According to the company, this generator runs on a combination of a DC motor, battery, and alternator, and it can supposedly recharge itself while in use.

But beneath this appealing technology pitch is a sophisticated scam defrauding Nigerians nationwide.

“When I saw the ad for the fuelless generator, I found it enticing,” says Mr Sani. “The price they were offering for a ten kVA generator was mind-blowing. This is something that is over a million, but they were offering less than ₦600,000.”

kVA (Kilo-volt-amperes)is a measure of apparent power. It describes the total amount of energy being used by a system. A 10 kVA Firman Generator is listed on Africa’s leading e-commerce company, Jumia, costing over ₦1 million. 

A too-good-to-be-true deal

Mr Sani called the company’s listed contact number and connected it to their “chief marketing officer,” Johnson Richard, via WhatsApp. Richard showed him the generator in a video call, displaying various machines in a supposed factory setting. He even gave a tour of his room to demonstrate how he used the generator to power his home appliances.

In a video seen by JoeyOffAir, a middle-aged man showcases a blue generator sitting in what looks like a family living room. The video is filmed in a house with handheld, unsteady shots that create a sense of realism, capturing unpolished, unfiltered moments. 

He is heard saying, “You can see this is a new technology coming with different things entirely.”

He points at three different buttons on the generator (blue, green and red colours), which he describes as overload, charging and load measure indicator generator indicators, respectively.

As he turns the ignition key and the house lights up, he continues, “As you can see, it can carry the fan, the television and the water dispenser. This is very good for you to have in your house.”

However, the video doesn’t show how the generator runs without fuel.

Michael shared that he had spoken with Richard’s family members via a video call, and everyone told me how it works. “He told me that the same way you do a switch over from NEPA (referring to the public power distributor)  to Gen[erator],  that’s the same way you remove the plug and insert it into the generator, and it will power the whole house.”

Warning signs and doubts

As Mr Sani continued to inquire about the generator, he came across another branch called ‘EcoTech Fuelless and Noiseless Generator Kaduna.’ Here, he noticed something odd: both branches listed identical addresses, only substituting the state names—Plateau and Kaduna—for each other.

A quick search revealed that neither address exists. The address, “21 Friesland Road, opposite St. Joseph College”, isn’t on any Plateau or Kaduna State map. The only recognised Friesland reference in Nigeria is FrieslandCampina WAMCO, a dairy company based in Ikeja, Lagos.

“The EcoTech company in Kaduna told me the generator was a Korean product trying to break into the Nigerian market,” Mr Sani recounted. He overlooked grammatical errors on their page, rationalising that since EcoTech was supposedly foreign, their English might be imperfect. Yet, his conversation with the Kaduna branch revealed an eerily similar script as the Jos branch—almost like a copy-paste job with slight tweaks.

A familiar scam 

Mr Sani is not alone in his suspicions. According to Nana Daru* (not real name), a police officer stationed in Vom, multiple complaints have been filed at the local police station. Though not officially authorised to comment, Nana said, “There is no company like that here. We have had a series of people fall for the scam and come to report at the station.”

Attempts to verify Johnson Richard’s contact information proved fruitless. On TrueCaller, his number is registered under a misleading name, “Kerosene Gass. Ecotech Gen (kva).” His WhatsApp display picture shows a lineup of supposed EcoTech generators, one even bearing the brand “Generac.”

According to Generac’s official website, the company manufactures a wide range of power products, including diesel generators, but there’s no mention of a fuel-free generator. A Google reverse image search reveals EcoTech’s photos were lifted from e-commerce listings of Generac’s diesel-powered models.

EcoTech’s misleading claims about its generators extend beyond Generac. They’ve also misrepresented brands like Jupiter and Able as fuel-free.

Can generators truly run without fuel?

While the idea of a self-recharging, fuel-free generator might sound revolutionary, it’s scientifically implausible. Studies show that while self-sustaining power systems are theoretically possible, they face practical limitations due to energy conservation laws, which state that energy cannot be created or destroyed—only transformed.

EcoTech’s DC motor, battery, and alternator system might generate some power, but only temporarily and with significant energy loss. The system would inevitably fail without an external power source for periodic recharging.

A web of Facebook pages and online deceit

EcoTech’s scam operations are heavily rooted in Facebook, with hundreds of groups promoting fake deals under multiple aliases—EcoTech, Echotech, and Ecotel. A review of 160 groups, with a combined following of over 30,000, revealed that EcoTech uses a “DM-only” policy, avoiding details until customers reach out privately. Addresses listed in various locations across Nigeria, like ‘58 Aliyu Kama Road, Wallang, Langtang South, Jos Plateau State,’ are bogus, conflating non-existent or mismatched localities.

EcoTech’s decentralised operations with multiple locations across numerous states make it difficult to track its activities to a single base. However, many of its alleged offices are in Northern Nigeria, where Plateau and Sokoto states take the lead in the mentions.

EcoTech demands a 50% deposit upfront, with an additional ₦30,000-₦50,000 as a “delivery/installation fee.” Victims recount being ghosted by EcoTech agents after making payments. One victim, Kayode Micha, shared, “Please people do not lose your money to this high-level fraudster by the name “Engineer Abdullah” with phone number 07049020491. NOTE that his advert about fuelless generators is aimed at defrauding you [sic].”

“I paid into his so-called account number. After all his promises of delivering the generator, he has failed and has stopped picking up calls,” Micha added. “This has been reported by other victims. His strategy is to ask you to pay 50% of the generator price and N30,000 as a delivery/installation fee. Once this is done, he will simply stop picking up your calls or start fabricating all kinds of lies.”

Another Facebook user, Goodluck Ifeanyichukwuabiama, confirmed he’d been defrauded of ₦450,000 in 2021. JoeyOffAir reached out to him but hadn’t received a response at the time of this report.

The same photos and collages are displayed across various groups and pages.

A

In a similar account, Idris Adewumi reported that EcoTech scammed his boss in Ibadan. He noted that EcoTech’s generator prices were suspiciously low—a 12 kVA model listed for ₦230,000, while a diesel-fuelled generator of similar capacity costs nearly ₦1 million on Jumia.

Price comparison of EcoTech products and Sumec Firman Generators on Jumia

False reviews and phantom customer satisfaction

To gain credibility, EcoTech creates fake reviews on its pages. JoeyOffAir’s investigations revealed that these reviews are posted by EcoTech page admins or related accounts that interact across different EcoTech Facebook groups. Meanwhile, genuine customer comments warn against the scam, urging others not to fall victim.

In another instance, Oke Sola disclosed that EcoTech severed contact after he made a ₦20,000 deposit. “Please don’t fall for this fraud. I made my payment after discussing with the ‘manager,’ but they’ve blocked every form of communication,” he reported.

“Please DNT fall for [this fraud] called [EcoTech]. I have paid a for my item based on my discussion with the manager but since my payment they have blocked any means of communication [sic],” he narrated.

Questionable legitimacy on paper

When JoeyOffAir searched the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website, the results showed that EchoTech Fuelless Generators was registered on January 10, 2023, under business number 3832581. Another entity, EcoTech Generator Ventures, was registered in February 2019 but is inactive, suggesting it has not filed the required annual returns.

Further verification of both companies was conducted through the CAC’s backend systems. EcoTech  Fuelless Generators was registered in Kaduna, with Innocent Onyeka Everest as the proprietor, while EcoTech Generator Ventures was registered in Imo, under Opara Dozie as the registrant. Attempts to reach Dozie using CAC-provided contact details were unsuccessful; it was unreachable, but we spoke with Everest. 

A rabbit hole of identity theft

When JoeyOffAir contacted Onyeka Everest denied involvement in the EcoTech scams, asserting that unknown individuals were exploiting his name and phone number to defraud Nigerians. He explained that this identity theft has entangled him in legal issues with the Nigerian police at Mabushi Police Station, Abuja.

Alhaji Adamu Shehu, a victim of the EcoTech scam in Abuja, had deposited approximately ₦700,000 into one of EcoTech’s various bank accounts, only to realise he had been swindled. He traced the registration details on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website to Mr Everest, prompting the police to arrest Everest.

“One of the victims in Abuja had me arrested. I was staying in Kaduna at that time and he was in Abuja. I  spent a month in a cell until a relative of mine bailed me out.”

Despite Everest’s claims of being a victim of identity theft, the police only accepted his defence after he refunded the money to Shehu.

Statement of Agreement between Mr Everest and an EcoTech scam victim 

After his release, Everest vowed to uncover the identity of the scammers, but the investigation has stalled for almost a year.

“I got the police involved and they traced the location of the scammers. One was in Jos, another in Edo and the last one in Abuja. Although they have not found the actual fraudster, I know the Nigeria police works if they want to. I have already told them to block the EcoTech account,” he told JoeyOffAir.  

Everest, who was incarcerated from May to June last year, says the ordeal still haunts him. Interestingly, no reference to EcoTech appears on any of his social media profiles. A 2019 graduate of Hassan Usman Polytechnic in Katsina, Everest has since maintained a low profile while seeking a marketing position.

We found out that EcoTech Fuelless Generator, with its registered status in the CAC’s records and fraudulent Facebook pages, is run by a decentralised network of yet-to-be-identified scammers operating from various locations. An independent CAC agent admitted that the agency’s current registration process lacks robust identity verification measures, as its agents “do not verify the identity of businesses,” instead prioritising personal gain.

Additionally, studies suggest that some individuals in Nigeria register companies with the CAC solely to obtain contracts, with these entities existing only on paper. 

Although the CAC states on its website that only a “legal practitioner, chartered accountant, or chartered secretary” can become an accredited agent, many agents fail to meet this requirement. If a fraudulent company can be registered with the CAC, it raises questions about the adequacy of the Commission’s KYC procedures.

In sum, EcoTech’s façade as a clean-energy innovator is a meticulously crafted scam defrauding Nigerians desperate for a solution to the country’s power crisis. Their operations span multiple states, with fake addresses, manipulated images, and a web of social media pages, making it difficult for victims to recover lost funds or hold anyone accountable.

Editor’s Note: Asterisked names are pseudonyms used to protect the identities of the sources.