Chukwuemeka Chukwujindu, a man living in Lagos, has accused Gloria Mbadiwe, the former chairperson of Ideato North Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo State, of refusing to refund his N7.5 million after failing to allocate two plots of land he paid for in August 2023.

Chukwujindu told FIJ that he did not know the land he paid for had issues involving the government until after he had paid. Since then, Mbadiwe has been holding his money.

He said that when he told her he wanted to buy land in 2023, Mbadiwe informed him that she knew someone who had some plots of land for sale. When he asked for the price of two plots, he said, Mbadiwe told him they would cost N8 million.

“I quickly sold my land here in Lagos before going to Owerri to purchase the land. When I got there, she said the seller had changed his mind. Once I said I was going back to Lagos, she told me she had a plot of land she could sell to me because she didn’t want me to leave empty-handed,” Chukwujindu told FIJ.

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“Her daughter took me to see the land she wanted to sell. It was somewhere in Orji, Owerri. I saw many armed policemen, and some people were excavating the land. I told her there must be an issue with the land because the police were there. Mbadiwe said they were only there to parcel the land.”

Chukwujindu said he paid after Mbadiwe assured him there was no land issue. He said that Mbadiwe said the owners only wanted to prevent the neighbouring community from encroaching on their property.

He said he paid her N7.5 million for two plots after they negotiated, along with an additional N330,000 for other costs she mentioned regarding the land. He also said that Mbadiwe assured him she would allocate the land to him but never did.

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“I called her after three weeks to ask for an update, but she said she was still working on it. Later on, I discovered that no one was working on the land. When I approached her the second time, I requested my money,” he said.

“I figured she had sold me land that belonged to someone else. Now that the value of the money has depreciated, I want the land. I have already spent a lot trying to get her to refund me.”

When FIJ called Mbadiwe, she asked the source to be more patient. FIJ asked her how much longer the source would have to wait, but she said, “Let him exercise patience small.”