Alaba Nelson (not real name), a Lagos-based vulcaniser, has narrated how LCredit, a money lending outfit, threatened to send a drafted suicide note to all his contacts if the three-month-old debt he owed was not paid.

Nelson told FIJ that he resolved to never repay the N9,000 loan he took in early June when the loan outfit decided to send defamatory messages to all his contacts.

“During that period, my son was terribly ill and I had no one to turn to for financial help,” Nelson said.

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“I eventually ended up borrowing N9,000 from LCredit with the hope that my son would get treated on time and I would be able to resume work quickly so I could repay the loan.

“Unfortunately, it took longer time for my son to heal, and I could not resume work on time to quickly repay what I owed LCredit.”

Nelson said he called the company agent he had been liaising with to tell him he would not be able to meet the repayment deadline and then plead for a five-day extension but the agent declined his request.

“After about three days, the company sent defamatory messages to almost all the contacts on my phone. My parents-in-law and relatives I had not spoken with in a long time also received the messages,” said Nelson.

“I went through hell during that period. I received numerous calls from my contacts, some genuinely wanting to know if all was well with me. After suffering a week of humiliation from the company, I resolved never to pay back that money again.”

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The vulcaniser said he was sent the suicide note threat on Friday, three months after the defamatory message.

A part of the message sent to Nelson read:

“Hello everyone, I am (YOUR NAME), mobile number: (YOUR NUMBER), I have failed in my life and I am about to commit suicide. I cannot repay the loan I owe LCREDIT for over 3 months now. I am sorry to my parents, my family and all my friends.

“I now beg everyone to help me. For the sake of my parents, everyone lend me a little money to help me repay the loan and give me a new life opportunity.”

Nelson told FIJ he would never repay the loan despite the latest threat from the company.

“I pray they go ahead and make good their threat. I have made up my mind on not repaying that loan and I won’t,” he said.

In August, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) instructed fintech solution providers and telecommunication companies who were not duly registered businesses in Nigeria and had violated the privacy rights of borrowers to shut down.

READ ALSO: FG Shuts Down Loan Apps, Freezes Their Accounts

Ten months earlier, the commission had issued a statement announcing the beginning of an investigation into rights violations in the money lending industry.

Despite fines, sanctions and eventual shutdown of some of these firms, many of them have continued to devise new means of harassing their debtors. Some of them have also changed their names and logos.

FIJ made several calls to the phone line on LCredit’s website, but they were not answered. A text message sent to the company had also not been responded to at press time.