The suspect allegedly defrauded the
victims under the pretence that a building located at Bankole Street,
Ijeshatedo, was undergoing renovation and would soon be ready for occupants.
Najeemdeen used to tell prospective
tenants that the building, which was already completed, was still undergoing
renovation.
He was always able to persuade victims
to make a down payment, so that after the minor repairs, the victim could move
in. Many of the victims, who bought his lies, paid.
The most surprising aspect of
the scam was that Najeemdeen told each prospective apartment seeker to come for
their keys on September 29, 2017.
One of the victims, Samuel Chonkea
said: “I didn’t know the developer would defraud us. I had always seen him as a
religious person. I paid him after inspecting the building. I noticed that the
remaining repairs were minor. He asked me to come back on September 28, for the
collection of my keys. But I couldn’t make it there that fateful day. A friend
of mine, who lives on the street, called and told me that somebody had moved
into my apartment. I rushed down there; I was surprised. I was about leaving
when the person stepped out of the apartment. I told him I was the owner
of the apartment and soon we engaged each other in a fight. I later ran to
Itire Police Station to report the incident.”
Chonkea said that he later found out
that many people were also defrauded by the developer.
Mr. Isiaka Oluwatoyin, another
victim, said that he paid N340, 000 for a mini flat in June, but was shocked
when he discovered that several other people paid for the same apartment.
Oluwatoyin said: “It was also a
friend of mine who introduced the developer to me. After I paid him, he said I
could move in by July. When my wife and I went there towards month end in July,
he told us to come back on September 28, claiming that the renovation was still
on.
“It was someone who called me that
there was a crowd at the front of the building protesting that they had been
duped by the developer of the house. When I got to the scene, I was scared; so
many people were protesting. I went straight to Itire Police Station, not
knowing that other people had been coming to make statements in respect of the
same case.”
It was learnt that the developer and
his friends had swindled people at Agege, Amukoko, Ikorodu, Ikeja and now
Ijeshatedo area, using that same building.
Mr. Uche Solomon said that he was
also affected in the scam. He recounted that he paid N450, 000 for two-bedroom
flat in September 14, through mobile banking.
His words: “It was a colleague in
the office that introduced me to the developer. After inspecting the building
and the apartment, I was satisfied and wanted to transfer money to him that
same day; but he asked me to move into my apartment on September 29. To my
surprise, I received a phone call that some people were protesting a day before
I was supposed to move in.
“When I got to the scene, I
witnessed the developer handing keys to some touts, to give to his preferred
candidates. We all moved to Itire Police Station to lodge a complaint. But to
our surprise, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) said the case had been
transferred to the Special Fraud Unit office (SFU).”
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