In
what could have passed for an April Fool’s Day prank, some
accommodation seekers who allegedly paid for a property situated at 12
Daniel Makinde Street, Ketu, Lagos realised on Monday that they had been
duped.
A group of developers allegedly
collected money on apartments from the accommodation seekers, telling
them to come for their keys on Monday, but they were nowhere to be
found.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the developers, now at large, collected sums of money ranging from N200,000 to N750,000 to rent out 14 flats.
Our correspondent, who visited the
scene, saw many of the victims crying. Some of them expressed fears that
they would soon be rendered homeless.
A victim, Opeyemi Okekunle, said, “In
November last year, I saw on a poster that there was vacancy in the area
and I called the phone number and one Adebayo Timothy Balogun, who
told me that it would cost N180,000 for a ‘self-contained apartment’
while the flat was N480,000. I paid and I was issued a receipt
“In December, I came to take possession
of the apartment but he told me that the house was still under
construction. In January, I returned but he said I should come back in
February. In February when I returned, I was told to remain calm.
“I kept coming everyday in March and I
was told that everything would be ready on April 1. Little did I know
that the developer was playing an April fool’s prank on me. On Sunday, a
friend called me to say that she noticed people moving into the
compound. On getting there, I was shocked to meet other people.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that some of
the prospective tenants had been given keys to their respective
apartments only to discover at the point of moving in that the locks had
been changed.
It was also learnt that apart from
Balogun, one Hakeem Olanrewaju and two other agents had also collected
money from the victims.
Another victim, Bolanle Faleti, told
our correspondent that , she and her husband had spent all their
savings in securing accommodation. She said she had no clue where she,
her husband and four children would lay their heads.
It was learnt that the landlord of the said property was late but his children and wives hired different developers.
A male victim, Tunde Olaleye, said he
lives in Mushin but decided to leave the area with his family due to
recurring violence. He said he had already paid a carpenter to start
making furniture for his new apartment.
He said, “I stay in Mushin and at least
three people have been killed in the area in the past one week. I
decided to leave the area because it is not safe and my tenancy had
already expired. I had believed I would move in today (yesterday) after
paying N420, 000 for a two-bedroom flat.
“On getting to the flat I paid for, I noticed that someone else was already living there.”
Another victim, Onome Omojowe, who is a
lawyer, said the matter had been reported at the Ketu Police Division
and that a petition to be sent to the Commissioner of Police, Lagos
State Command, the State Security Service and the office of the state
governor was being prepared.
While addressing the victims, the
Chairman, Ikosi/Isheri Local Council Development Area, Abdulfatai
Oyesanya, urged them not to take the law into their own hands and allow
the police to carry out investigations..
Our correspondent learnt that the
victims had opened a register, recording their names and the amount of
money each of them paid. As of the time our correspondent left the area,
100 people had written their names.
When contacted on the telephone, the
spokesperson for the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said three
suspects had been arrested. She however said the prime suspects were
still at large.
Punch
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