Homeclass Group’s website boldly displays a young man in high spirits, but it is difficult to find out if the joy on display is a telltale of customer satisfaction, considering the unpleasant stories from the company’s customers.

Adedayo, a veterinary doctor based in Lagos State, and a couple of other persons desirous of relocating from Nigeria have narrated how Homeclass Group, founded by Onaifo Uwa Prosper, defrauded them of N62,064,500 under the guise of helping them to process employment abroad.

Speaking with FIJ, Adedayo said Uwa promised her of a smooth process that would land her in Canada as a licensed resident.

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EXCITEMENT WITH A SORE ENDING

Prior to July 2022, Adedayo came across Homeclass on Instagram promoting its numerous services, one of which was helping clients secure jobs with foreign partners.

According to the animal doctor, she was interested in relocating to Canada to secure a good-paying job and was prompted to contact the company. Subsequently, she entered into a contractual deal with Uwa’s company.

“I paid N3,507,500 to the company in July and they assured me that the relocation process would be completed in four months. I was really excited that my dream of relocating from Nigeria was coming to fruition. Our agreement was that they would secure me a job related to my career in Canada,” said Adedayo.

“Subsequent to the payment, we signed a ‘Visa Procurement Service Engagement Agreement’ in the name of Uflyright Enterprises. This stage somehow made me keep faith that it was a legitimate venture.

“The four-month period given expired and nothing positive happened. I became worried and kept asking them to be straightforward with me on what was delaying it. Expectedly, they would provide an excuse, but I was not satisfied. In the end, my fears turned out to be legitimate as the company did not render the agreed service and refused to refund me.”

In a similar way, Ajayi’s N3,700,000 did not deliver anything close to the agreement he had with the company. “I hoped that all was well, but nothing was fine. The deception, however, blew open when Mr. Prosper asked me to go to Abuja for a visa interview,” Ajayi told FIJ.

“I spent more than N500,000 on the trip. To my shock, there was no visa appointment made for me. I expressed my disappointment, and he apologised, promising to refund part of my expenses.”

While Ajayi, Adedayo and nine other victims had almost similar experiences with Homeclass and Prosper, the same thing cannot be said of the amounts they have lost.

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According to the victims, the travel facilitation company deliberately pooled N62,064,500 from them at different times from April to August 2022 with a bad intention.

“It appeared that Mr. Prosper was out there to defraud the public and we innocently fell into his trap. None of us was close to getting what we paid for. We have seen no single person testify about their successful relationship with the company, but we have heard different accounts of people describing the company as fraudulent,” Uche Francis (not real name) told FIJ.

Francis paid N3,737,500 to the company on July 25, 2022, but neither got the service he paid for nor a refund.

“About two weeks after I paid him the money, I had a personal reason to discontinue the application. I informed him, but he failed to accept my request for a refund. Despite my lawyer’s letters to him, he insisted on ‘no refund’. Yet, he did not provide a proof of the application’s progress to me.”

POLICE ARREST WITHOUT RESULT

The victims told FIJ they sought police intervention when their individual efforts met a brick wall. “Unfortunately, the police, too, did nothing to help us get justice,” they explained to FIJ.

“We called for a police investigation via a petition to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, dated September 29, 2022. Following our petition, the police arrested him. They had told us they had got a court order to take him into custody.

“Upon interrogation, the travel agent could not show any evidence that he was working on our applications. The police also found that he had no foreign partners processing any relocation visa and employment placements in Canada, Schengen or the United Kingdom.

“Surprisingly, the police granted him bail without our knowledge and even without letting him make any commitment on how to refund our money. At that point, we virtually lost the confidence we had in the police structure.

“We later withdrew our petition from the police when said they said the case would be transferred to Abuja. We were shocked because all of us, including Mr. Prosper, live in Lagos State, and the act complained about took place in Lagos. So, what was the basis of the transfer?

“Since then, none of us could speak with him again. If we go to his office, his employees will harass us. Imagine losing over N62 million in this hard situation. We have been defrauded and are basically helpless now.”

Effort to get the FCID Alagbon’s public relations officer to speak on the matter was unsuccessful. FIJ called Eguaoje Funmilayo, the spokesperson for the FCID headquarters, Abuja, on Wednesday, and she promised to send her Lagos counterpart’s phone number, but she was yet to do that at press time.

Our reporter also visited Homeclass’ office at 87 Allen Avenue, opposite Federal Inland Revenue office, Ikeja, on January 26, 2023, to inquire about its services. The company shares the same building with Oak Furniture.

Osagie Onaifo, a representative of the company, explained to our reporter that a UK package would cost $11,500. He said, “You will pay 50% in advance and when the process is delivered after 5 months, you will balance up. Our HR will process your refund in 40 days if we don’t fulfill our own side of the bargain within delivery timeline.”

FIJ found that Homeclass Group is an unregistered name with which the firm deals with the public. However, it uses Uflyright Enterprises, registered with the corporate affairs commission, to execute formal agreement with its clients.

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Contrary to the company’s claims that it is “a private limited liability company”, checks by FIJ revealed that it was registered as a business name under Part E of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and has a certificate number BN-2799826.

Prosper refused to comment on the story when FIJ called him on January 26. He said, “Come to my office if you want to me to talk because I have evidence to show for it.”

On January 27, Abraham Jighu, who identified as Prosper’s legal representative, called our reporter on the phone, saying, “If you are an investigative reporter, why not go to our client’s office to investigate him. I want you to know we will not take it lightly if you publish any defamatory story against our client.”