Michael Precious and Catherine Chinenye, both Lagos-based house seekers, have accused Prosper Chukwuemeka, a property agent in the state, of defrauding them of a total sum of N1.4 million.

In a chat with FIJ, Precious, a Lagos-based businessman, claimed a million naira was paid to Chukwuemeka in April 2021. While speaking with FIJ, Chinenye, Precious’ friend, said she paid N400,000 to the same agent around the same period last year.

The house seekers claimed that for more than a year, Chukwuemeka had been evasive and had refused to hand over the keys to the apartment they paid for.

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“When I met Chukwuemeka, I told him I needed a room and parlour self-contained. He showed me an apartment in Festac Town and said it would cost me N400,000 per year. He also told me that I would have to pay for two years. I subsequently agreed to the conditions he gave and paid N800,000 for two years, N100,000 for agreement and commission, and another N100,000 as agency fee. In all, I made a total payment of N1,000,000,” Precious explained.

“However, on getting to the house I was supposed to move into, I discovered it was an uncompleted building.

“When Chukwuemeka realised how disappointed I was about the development, he was quick to assure me that the apartment would be completed within a month. He also told me that all other agreements would be signed after I had moved into the house.”

THE REQUEST FOR A MONTH’S EXTENSION

Upon the expiration of the one-month grace that Chukwuemeka appealed for, the house seeker reached out to him to ask whether he could move in. However, rather than give a positive response, the agent pleaded for a one-month extension.

“I explained to him that my wife was pregnant and that she needed to be in a house where she would be comfortable till the baby she was carrying then was due. Chukwuemeka was quick to assure me that there wouldn’t be any further delay after the extension he had asked for,” said Precious.

The additional one month that Chukwuemeka requested passed by, but both Precious and Chinenye would still not have access to the accommodation they had paid for.

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“When we eventually got tired of his promises and visited him to demand for a refund, he chased us away and also threatened to arrest us with policemen,” Precious said.

After getting chased away by the agent, both Precious and Chinenye visited a police station in Festac to register a complaint on the incident.

“We were shocked when the policemen we met at the station told us that we would both have to pay N50,000 to establish our case. We also feel the officers are allies who work in Chukwuemeka’s interest,” stressed Precious.

“The policemen arrested one of the agents that took me to Chukwuemeka but later released him and said the agent was not directly involved in the fraud that was committed.”

CHINENYE’S EXPLANATION

Chinenye’s explanation was not in any way different from Precious’.

“Precious, my friend, introduced me to Chukwuemeka when I was in dire need of a new apartment. When the agent took us to the apartment, despite being a yet-to-be completed building, I saw that the house environment was nice. So, I paid N400,000 for a room self-contained. The N400,000 I paid served as a two-year payment,” she explained.

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Just like in Precious’ explanation, Chinenye was told by Chukwuemeka that the building would be completed after a month. She however added that the building, which Chukwuemeka had advertised as a residential apartment before she made payment, suddenly became a shopping mall when it was completed.

“When we discovered that we had paid to a fraudster, we first called Chukwuemeka and demanded that he refund our money. But, in his response, he told us that he had just had an accident. After a while, I reported him to a member of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), but the person I reported him to did not do anything about it. I later discovered that Chukwuemeka had given the OPC member some money to silence him.”

CHUKWUEMEKA THREATENS FIJ REPORTER

Chineye disclosed that Ifeanyi and Chibueze, the agents who introduced them to Chukwuemeka, were his ‘boys’, and that they had prior knowledge of his fraudulent scheme before taking them to him.

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FIJ contacted Festac Police Station via the number on its official website, but it was not reachable. They had also not replied to an SMS sent to them at press time.

When FIJ contacted Chukwuemeka, he said, “A Deputy Inspector General (DIG) knows about the case. I don’t have any business with you. Where is your office? The DIG will send his boys to you”.

On April 6, FIJ reported how Prosper Chukwuemeka collected N450,000 from Jubril Abdulsalam, a travel agent, but refused to release the keys to the apartment he wanted.

Jubril told FIJ he contacted Chukwuemeka to enquire about the apartment in December 2021 after seeing his contact on a banner advertising an apartment in Festac.