On March 2, Wumi, a Lagos-based seamstress, met Shola Jagun, the chief executive officer of Pizzle Properties. The visit was to help secure an apartment after being introduced to the property agent by a friend. So, her expectation was simple, she told the ICIR.
She thought if Jagun, the property agent, could help secure an apartment at a strategic location in Lagos, it would foster a steady growth in her business. Thus, improving her livelihood.
However, what ought to be a step toward life-changing turned out to be what she described as an agonising experience. She got scammed.
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Jagun, the property agent she consulted to help secure the apartment, allegedly conspired with one Femi Fadipe, a caretaker, to rip her off a sum of N300, 000 initial payment.
Three months later, Wumi is yet to get the accommodation, Her previous rent had expired in January, and she is now homeless.
Reoccurring reality
In a quest for to get accommodation, unsuspecting Nigerians have fallen victims to fake property (house) agents and dubious property firms.
Wumi has solely been responsible for catering to her needs and her siblings ever since her father’s demise. She is an unemployed university graduate but decided to go into fabric designing to make ends meet.
On March 2, Seyi, Wumi’s friend, arranged for a meeting between the concerned parties. And after resolving her choice of accommodation in a business-friendly area of Lagos, Jagun introduced her to Femi, a caretaker whom the agent assured her of his sincerity, giving testimonies of the different successful transactions they have had in the past.
He claimed, “they have been doing business for long,” Wunmi said.
Shortly after, Wumi received a call from Jagun announcing an available apartment in the Gbagada area of Lagos.
The total cost for the rent was N480,000. She agreed to advance payment of N300, 000 while she pays the N180,000 outstanding after two weeks when the current occupant of the apartment would have moved out, then she moves in.
“I met Femi, the caretaker, on March 3. I made the first payment on the same day,” Wumi said.
Sola Jagun (Agent) Femi Matthew Fadipe (Caretaker)
On March 3, Wumi was called to inspect the apartment that fits her specifications somewhere around the Charly boy area, Gbagada, Lagos.
Upon arrival, she could not go into the apartment to check the interior, with the excuse that the current occupant was out of town and had locked the apartment. This was her first and only meeting with Fadipe, the caretaker.
Out of desperation, she eventually withdrew all her savings and solicited financial support from friends and relatives to pay for the rent.
Wumi paid N150,000 into the Sterling bank account (008199…) of Femi Matthew Fadipe, the said caretaker. This was on March 3. Due to the daily transaction limit, she made the payment twice. The next day, on March 4, she paid another N150,000 to complete the advance payment of N300,000.
“Jagun took me to Femi. He vouched for him, saying I could pay Femi as they have been doing business for long,” she said.
“Femi told me that the apartment’s occupant would move out within two weeks. So, I transferred N150,000 to Femi on March 3 and another N150,000 on March 4, respectively. Making a total of N300,000.”
First transaction receipt Second transaction receipt
Two weeks after the payments, Femi’s two lines became switched off. Wumi reached out to Jagun to inform him of the new development, but she was met with the same story of the unavailability of Fadipe’s lines.
By April 30, Wumi eventually got through to Fadipe. She threatened him, after which he promised to refund her money. He gave no reasons why she would no longer be moving into the apartment or why his lines were unreachable.
Wumi would later find out Fadipe had collected funds from several people in the guise of helping to get an apartment.
She said “And it was confirmed to me at the Pedro Police Station of Charly Boy, Lagos state where they referred to him as ‘a regular customer,” she said.
“I don’t want the apartment again. He should refund my money and let me move on. This has affected my mental health, and I can’t even concentrate on my job. My customers are complaining bitterly,” Wumi told The ICIR amidst tears.
On May 5, when The ICIR reached out to Jagun, he claimed he could not reach Fadipe, the caretaker he introduced to the victim.
“I am not happy with the situation of things. I have tried to reach Femi Fadipe on different occasions, but my efforts have been unproductive,” he said. “The last time we traced his location, he was in Ekiti, but afterwards, we could no longer reach him. I even went to his church to look for him, but his pastor said he is not in town.”
The ICIR made efforts to reach Fadipe by placing calls across to him several times but his lines were switched off. Jagun later said he has a new number that Fadipe can be reached on, but he declined to share.
Meanwhile, according to reports from the Wunmi and Jagun, the Police has received various complaints against Fadipe for his fraudulent activities to get accommodation for people. But, Jagun, the property agent, continued to exonerate himself from the fraud.
“I wish I have the money to sort Wumi’s case, but I don’t. Wumi is not the only victim. There is another guy whom Fadipe collected N4 million from,” Jagun told this reporter. “When we went to report at the Police Station, they said this is not the first time Fadipe would be reported to them”.
On April 30, Fadipe has promised to refund the money during a chat, It’s over a month since then and he is yet to make the refund. As of the time of filing this report, Fadipe’s numbers have remained switched off.
Wumi’s chat with Femi Matthew Fadipe
“I’ve never heard of such a case, but I just spoke to Pedro Police Station DPO. He would take it up from there,” the Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer SP Benjamin Hundeyin disclosed when this ICIR reached out to him during a phone conversation.
“I have just spoken with the DPO in charge of the reported station and he said he is not aware of such a report or incident. However, he has requested that the victim should reach out to him. Let them do and I’m sure they’ll get justice,” he told The ICIR.
Omolola Pedro is a Reporter/ Fact-Checker at The International Centre for Investigative Reporting. She believes in a society that is fair to all. She has deep interest in Gender Equality, Social Justice, and protection of human rights.
You can reach out to her via mail opedro@icirnigeria.org, Twitter:@pedro_omolola