On November 13, when Emeka Onyekwuluje, a ride-hailing driver, drove the owner of Brown’s Pick, a Lagos-based tailoring company, to his destination, it never crossed his mind that the rider would not pay his N3,700 transport fare.
Onyekwuluje, who works with InDrive, told FIJ that while the rider’s name was Godwin on the ride-hailing app, he introduced himself as Ikechukwu at the end of the trip.
“The money is small, but it is painful that someone will cheat me out of a service I successfully rendered. I even gave him five-star rating because the trip ended pleasantly,” the driver also said.
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He said after he had driven Godwin (Ikechukwu) to Lekki Phase 1 from Lekki Scheme 2 on that fateful day, the rider told him he had transferred the money.
Based on the friendly chat they had during the trip, which gave the driver no cause for alarm, he did not bother to confirm the payment as he was so sure the rider would pay.

When Onyekwuluje noticed that he had not been credited, he called Godwin to remind him of the payment.
However, 17 days after the trip, the driver has not received a dime despite several calls and an email to the passenger.
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“At first, he said he had not been debited but told me to forward my account details, promising to send the money. He later stopped picking the calls,” he said.
“When I did not receive any alert, I asked him to send the debit alert from his bank so I could take it up with my bank in case the delay was from them, but he never did.”
When FIJ contacted Godwin for comment on the payment issue, he said, “Please, send me his account number.”
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