When Olumide Adebayo (not real name), a Lagos-based digital marketer, saw an internship opening at the Lagos Fashion Festival (LFF) on February 7, he was quick to jump on it because it felt like a dream come true.

Adebayo, who also promotes fashion brands and startups online, told FIJ that after his application, he was invited for an interview on February 16.

“I first came across the internship opening on Instagram two weeks ago, and I applied. I got slated for an interview, and I was very excited to attend,” Adebayo told FIJ.

“I got there and met other people. We were given internship forms and then went in in turns. However, when it was my turn, I tried to sell myself, but Al-ameen Babatunde, the founder, cut me off midway to say that the fashion academy cost N150,000; however, since I was applying as an intern, it could cost me only N15,000, which I had to pay before 4 pm on the same day.

READ ALSO:US Residents Protest Against Free Housing for Migrants

“I thought that considering the number of applications they’d be receiving, I could be losing my spot if I did not pay early enough. This made me pay, and they later sent me a message that my profile had been updated, and that I should show up on February 20.”

N45,000 FOR SLOT UPGRADE

The digital marketer said when he returned to the premises of the LFF on February 20, he met Babatunde again, who said the N15,000 internship offer had now closed and he would have to upgrade his slot with N45,000.

“When I got there that Tuesday, I met a lady who told me she was asked to pay N45,000 for the same slot they made me pay N15,000 for. I suspected that something looked fishy, but it was difficult to nail,” he said.

“When the lady and I met Babatunde, he told us that the N15,000 slot offer was now closed and that we had to upgrade to N45,000. Meanwhile, the lady asked to pay N45,000 had already paid N20,000, and he didn’t know.

“Right there, we figured out that the whole internship offer was a scam. I asked for a refund on February 21, and he told me there was a no-refund policy, but I saw him refunding some people the same day I went there.

“When I asked their support via WhatsApp, they said the people refunded that day just [got] a favour. Subsequently, I noticed he had blocked me on WhatsApp and I couldn’t reach them anymore.”

A FRAUDULENT FASHION BUSINESS

The Lagos Fashion Festival is an event organised by Zamantee African Entertainment Network, an entertainment firm.

FIJ found screenshots of a few people whom LFF had duped in the line of their business. One of the victims, an actor, had been made to pay N250,000 for a lead role in a movie which never happened.

READ ALSO:53-Year-Old Widower Spends 5 Months in Prison for a Crime He Didn’t Commit

FIJ reached out to LFF on Thursday with these allegations and they responded that there was nothing to explain. “We have over 50 interns doing well. There is nothing to clarify here,” LFF responded.