Mary Udoh, an entrepreneur, woke up to a shock on January 14, when her landlord’s family asked her to vacate the shop leased to her on 1 Kadiri Street, Ikeja, Lagos. 

Udoh asked to know why she should leave the shop after paying her annual rent in full, but the landlord’s family told her they had sold the property and gave her a notice to quit by April 30.

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She told FIJ she had paid N150,000 to Seyi Fakumoju Molusi, her landlord, four days before she was sent packing. His landlord came up with many excuses when she informed him of the development. According to Udoh, he did not seem like he was interested in refunding her.

“I told him I needed my money back, but he said I should look for another shop and he would come and pay for me. I refused because he could not determine the next line of action for me. He was aware of the decision to sell the house, yet he collected money from me,” she told FIJ.

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“We did not agree with the time they gave us, so the family took the matter to the Alausa Police Station, but all they did was to agree on what to do and what not to do. They did not talk about how I would get my money back.”

When FIJ called Seyi Fakumoju Molusi, the landlord, he admitted his brother sold the house but refused to comment on refunding Udoh her money.