Before Naomi Chika, an Abuja-based woman, invested N1.6 million with Adewale Adejana, the founder of Sapphire Scents Limited, a trusted church member had sung his praises for two years. But seven months after investing with him, she found herself financially miserable.

Seeing top celebrities of the time, like Teddy A, Bambam and Tonto Dike, advertise Sapphire Scents Ltd. and knowing it had a physical office in Maitama, she concluded it was authentic.

Chika told FIJ that Adejana, popularly referred to as Wale Jana, reiterated the view at the time of investing that she would receive a 25 percent return on investment if she invested. Without equivocation, she then invested N1.5 million in June 2019, which would be around N4.7 million today.

In November of the same year, Adejana rolled out another investment package. She invested N100,000 to partake in the goodies of his share package, but it did not end well.

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“In December 2019, I began expecting my capital plus the return on investment, but nothing came. At first, when I reached out to him, he assured me he would send it but failed to do so until COVID-19 happened,” Chika told FIJ.

Chika would later learn that the delay in her payment from Adejana had started shortly after she invested with him, although he pretended as though he had no issues.

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She said the church member who first spoke to her about Adejana revealed that he had to forcefully collect his investment capital from him in July 2019 because there were indications that he was heading towards a financial disaster.

Chika said that from 2020 until last year, he kept blaming his inability to pay her up on a variety of factors. But twice in 2023, he paid her N100,000, the last in November.

“Ever since, he’s been saying ‘next month’ but failing to pay. It’s been five years already, and I’m still begging for my money, yet he keeps advertising his business,” she said.