Charles Ofojetu, a Lagos State-based businessman, has accused Chinenye Uzodinma, a lawyer whom he was interested in dating, of refusing to refund the N60,000 he recently paid to her for company registration.

Ofojetu, on Tuesday, told FIJ that in a bid to register his company, he paid the sum to Uzodinma in December 2022. He also said he submitted seven different company name ideas to the lawyer, who committed to checking their availability on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) portal.

He said the agreement he had with Uzodinma was that after checking the names, she would help him register one for the fee. He added that the payment was made to her in full, even before she commenced work.

“She only checked two out of the seven names I gave to her. I also later got to know that she didn’t carry the name check out herself. She outsourced it to someone she called her partner,” Ofojetu told FIJ.

“She later came back to tell me that all of the names were rejected. When I asked her why, so I could suggest new ones, she started insulting me.

READ ALSO: Company Account Disappears from CAC Platform after Payment

“Let me quickly add that while the company registration request was ongoing, we almost once had a near flirtatious relationship as well, but it ended abruptly. The relationship ended when she asked me to buy her a flight ticket but I refused.

“After repeatedly insulting me, I asked her if the incident would affect our professional relationship, and she said ‘if you want a refund, I’ll process it for you. Don’t stress me, nna.'”

Ofojetu said after Uzodinma’s “refund comment”, he sent his account number to her but she never refunded the N60,000 to him.

“My partner said no refunds, and I cannot pay him back with my own money” was Uzodinma’s response when FIJ called her on Tuesday.

“I do criminal law, and I also work independently with a team of lawyers.

“My partner handled it, and CAC rejected the names Ofojetu sent, so I told him to send more names. We were doing the transaction as friends but that does not take away the fact that he paid for a job,” she said.

“He paid; I asked him for details and we began working. I sent him back the list and told him to change them. Similar names get rejected if something similar exists.

READ ALSO: Police Storm Fake CAC Office in Lagos, Arrest Officials

“I sent him options, and he said he did not like them. We waited from December. He was irritating me.”

Like Ofojetu, Uzodinma also confirmed to FIJ that a “special personal relationship” developed before the business engagement but quickly faded after the flight ticket incident.

“After this incident, I told Ofojetu to work with my partner because our personal relationship would definitely get in the way of our professional relationship. I was sure I would be angry with him when responding to him in the course of assisting him with the registration,” Uzodinma said during the phone interview with FIJ.

“He refused and said he could not work with my partner, that he did not want to work with someone he did not pay to.”