Published 10th Dec, 2023

By Timileyin Akinmoyeje

In January, Sade Abolaji* and Seyi Olusegun*, Nigeria-based civil servants, lost £20,000 (around N20 million at the current exchange rate) to a scam orchestrated by Olanrewaju Shofoluwe, a UK-based Nigerian.

Both friends had sent the money through another friend, Ade Daramola*, to secure certificates of sponsorship from care homes in the country. Daramola, who acted as the proxy, resides in the United Kingdom and had introduced his friends to Shofoluwe weeks before the payment.

Daramola first heard about Shofoluwe through a family friend. He had also met Shofoluwe in person at his residence in the United Kingdom before he recommended him to his friends in Nigeria.

Since Daramola facilitated the payment from his friends to Shofoluwe in January, they have neither got the certificates nor their money.

In his interview with FIJ, Daramola expressed displeasure about the uncomfortable situation Shofoluwe put him. He seems to hold more cynical opinions about travel agents because of the incident. He told FIJ that he might not be willing to recommend businesses to people for a while.

“Sometimes, no amount of due diligence will save you from getting defrauded. Shofoluwe collected so much money from me and my friends in Nigeria and he just decided to look away. He has been avoiding people,” Daramola said.

“Although it all started in January, it became clear by June/July that we were not getting anywhere with this guy and that he was a scam. I had met him one-on-one in January. A friend introduced me to him and told me that he had collected certificates for people successfully.

“But since then, all of the people, about four or five people, my friends have introduced to him have not got certificates. I have also introduced two of my friends to him. He collected £20,000 from us and he has not delivered anything.

“You know all of this introducing people to each other and being in the middle. He has not been forthcoming or honest with us, and it has given me a lot of sleepless nights.

Daramola also felt guilty for introducing his friends to a scammer. He told FIJ that he did not need a certificate in the first place. According to him, he has been living in the United Kingdom for a while, and linking his friends with Shofoluwe was for them to join him in the country.

“As for me, I am okay. I work already. I don’t need the certificates. I have zero benefits from it. It’s just like helping friends and family. So, I have no benefits. I just linked him up with people; that was all,” he said.

“In fact, after the conversation was progressing between my friends and him, I went to look for him. It was when I put a face to the name that I was comfortable. I had been initially skeptical. I just wanted him to refund the money to my friends; they have a lot at stake.

I SOLD MY CAR AND LAND

Abolaji told FIJ that to cover the cost of the certificate, she sold her properties, including her land and vehicle. She explained how she never doubted these choices because she had set her mind on emigrating to the United Kingdom, after Daramola.

Daramola’s first-hand stories about the United Kingdom had inspired her to consider emigration. He had also convinced her that the benefits of emigration were worth the cost.

When Daramola then introduced Abolaji to Shofoluwe in January, it did not take much for her to convince her. After Daramola confirmed his meeting with Shofoluwe in mid January, Abolaji’s doubts completely disappeared.

“After I decided to raise money to no avail, I sold my car and my land. Daramola had told me how he and his wife sold some of their properties too. So I decided,” said Abolaji.

“Later, he told me he had got a guy for the certificates. He said he had met the man through his wife’s friends at her school. We decided to give him a try.

“Daramola sent me his number and I spoke to him. He is Yoruba and his name is Ola. When I also spoke to him, he sounded like he knew what he was doing, like he was responsible.

“He told me he’d be taking a £6000 first payment. At the time, I had already sold my land and I already had N6 million. I sent the money to my friend. Together we arranged for how we changed the money.

“Daramola sent the money to Shofoluwe and he confirmed that he had received the money. He promised us the certificate would be ready within three weeks. I created a one-month space in my head.

“After the third month, I became worried. When I asked him, he started giving excuses about the difficulty of the process. I recall that three other people had got certificates through other means around that time.

“He called me towards the end of that month to send him balance. He said the certificate was ready. I consulted with my friends and after deliberation, we decided to pay the balance. We needed the document to apply and we did not want it to seem like we wanted to dupe him.

“I sold my car and I added the balance. I sent the money through a money changer to Shofoluwe myself, this time around, not involving Daramola. He sent me screenshots of the transactions.

“He started to ask for extra time again. He promised us 48 hours, then one week. But since that time, nothing has happened. At one point, I involved my brother. He followed Daramola to see him, but he refused to meet either of them.”

“When the trouble became too much. He sent Damola £1,000. We agreed to give our other friend because his house was at stake at the time.

Later he sent Damola another N2 million. I had to tell my friend that I needed money too. So we reached a concession and I got N500,000 out of that N2 million. So, out of the £10,000, the only money I have received personally is N500,000 “

SHOFOLUWE HAS BLOCKED US OFF

Abolaji and Daramola both told FIJ in separate accounts how Shofoluwe deliberately cut them off from accessing him. Abolaji, for instance, described how he had first diverted their attention from him and blocked them from sending texts and calls.

“At a point, he even lied to us to shift the blame. He gave us the contacts of another person. When we met the man, he denied ever having anything to do,” said Abolaji.

“At a point, we involved his wife. Daramola went to his wife several times. At some point, Shofoluwe’s wife invited the police on Daramola. He and his wife have blocked me, Daramola or any other person from texting them.”

Abolaji also described the hardship the situation had caused her. She explained that she was more interested in a resolution and a refund.

She also told FIJ that she would prefer him to refund than get arrested. The money, according to her, is the most important motivation for pursing Shofoluwe.

FIJ sent Shofoluwe text messages in the early hours of October 8. FIJ also called him the same day to get his reaction on the allegation. However, the calls and texts had not been responded to as of press time.

Note: The names of the victims have been changed to protect their identities

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