Kazeem Bamgbose, an Ogun State resident, has accused Nasiru Tajudeen, an immigration officer, of duping him out of N200,000.
Bamgbose told FIJ that sometime in early 2021, Tajudeen told him he could get anyone a job with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for a fee.
This interested him, as his wife was without a job at the time. He said he trusted the immigration officer partly because they had met frequently at a refreshment lounge around the officer’s office.
On April 15, 2021, Bamgbose transferred the sum of N200,000 to Tajudeen in the hope of getting an appointment letter for his wife, but 15 months after, there has been no job.
“I gave him the money to help secure a job for my wife, but up till now, he has not done anything about it,” Bamgbose told FIJ. “I have been seeking a refund but he keeps telling me stories about how he has been trying to track someone to Abuja.
“He said he gave the money to someone to help us secure the job, but I did not pay to a third party. I paid to him directly, and I need my money immediately because I hear he will soon retire.”
When FIJ contacted Tajudeen, he said he was innocent of the allegation and had no intention of duping Bamgbose.
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In a telephone conversation with our reporter, he admitted collecting the sum from Bamgbose, but said he transferred it to one Oladejo Sunday, who, he said, resides in Abuja and retired from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
“Many people paid money to this man. He has all their details,” Tajudeen told FIJ. “I have known him for a while, and he helps people to get land and jobs, but when these people came to me and I transferred them to him, he became unreachable.”
Tajudeen said he had gone to Abuja to seek out Sunday but his efforts proved abortive. He said he had also engaged the services of a lawyer and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to track Sunday down.
When FIJ tried to reach Sunday, his phone lines were switched off. A text message sent to him had also not been replied to as of press time.
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