A
man who was already serving time in prison for committing a grievous
crime, has shocked people by engaging in yet another criminal act.
Alhaji Lukman Adewale
Some alleged Lagos fraudsters, led by an inmate at the Kirikiri
prison, Alhaji Lukman Adewale, have destroyed the expectation of a new
Lagos couple to have a roof over their head after their wedding.
According to Punch Metro, the couple and 11 others, who had paid
different sums of money for some apartments on Adekujo Street, Alakuko,
were allegedly defrauded to the tune of over N1m.
It was learnt that Adewale, who is facing criminal charges for
alleged fraudulent sale of a house, reportedly called his apprentice,
Adeniyi Owolabi, and asked him to position himself as an agent in charge
of the house.
Owolabi, 45, allegedly collected money from 12 people, promising to
allocate them apartments in the house, which was under construction.
The suspect was said to have given the victims a date to come for their keys, when the house would have been completed.
The victims on the appointed day reportedly discovered that the apartments had been occupied and they had been duped.
The matter was reported to the police at the Alakuko division after the suspect fled the area.
During investigation, the police were said to have discovered that
the fraud was initiated by Adewale, who owned up to the crime and
assisted the police in the arrest of Owolabi.
A relative of the new couple, who did not identify himself, said they now lodged in a hotel.
He said, “My brother and his wife got married last Saturday
with the hope of moving into the house. They paid N100,000 as deposit
for a flat, and promised to balance the rent. They later discovered that
they had been defrauded. They now stay in a hotel pending when they
will resolve the issue.”
A victim, Abatan Abiola, said he paid N70,000 as part-payment for a
room-and- parlour apartment, adding that the suspect asked him to come
for the apartment keys on March 16.
He said, “He said he was the agent in charge of the house. In
order to have evidence, we videotaped him while he was collecting the
money.
“He said I should come for the house keys on March 16. But to
my surprise, I met five other people in the house, laying claim to the
same apartment. While we were arguing, other victims joined us and the
number grew to 12 persons. He had collected over N1m from us.
“The house has three room-and-parlour apartments and a two
bedroomed flat. We saw that those who occupied the apartments actually
forced themselves in. The house does not have a toilet or bathroom;
nothing is in place yet.”
Abiola said he was not interested in pursuing a case against the suspect, adding that he only wanted a refund.
A house agent, Amos Afolayan, said he took three people to the suspect.
Afolayan explained that his clients paid Owolabi N300,000, N230,000
and N100,000, for a two bedroomed flat, a flat, and a room-and-parlour
apartment, respectively.
He said, “He told us he was the agent in charge of the house. I
observed that the top floor of the house was still under construction,
while a part of the ground floor had been completed. My clients paid the
rents, including agreement, commission and caution fees. When we went
to take possession of the apartments, we learnt he had fled. The
completed apartments had been occupied.
“Before now, he had given us the contact of his boss, Adewale.
Anytime we called Adewale, he would say he was in Ilorin, Kwara State.
At another time, he said he was sick and had a surgery. He said he was
recuperating. He usually picked our calls. If he missed a call, he would
return it.
“We saw a lawyer who claimed to be representing him. The lawyer
told us that Adewale would be back the following week and we should be
patient. He was about leaving when we held him and handed him over to
the police.”
Punch Metro reports that during interrogation, the lawyer confessed
that he was fake, adding that he met Adewale during a visit to a
relative in the Kirikiri Medium Prison.
The Investigating Police Officer and some officials were said to have confirmed that Adewale was indeed in prison.
“When they visited him in the prison, he told them he didn’t
collect any money from Owolabi. He promised to help the police track the
suspect,” Afolayan added.
Owolabi, who spoke with our correspondent, said his boss tricked and handed him over to the police.
He said, “The house in question used to be a school before the
owner decided to convert it to a residential building. She asked my boss
to develop the building because she didn’t have money. My boss was on
the job when he ran into trouble. He is in the Kirikiri prison because
of a house he sold.
“He called me from the prison that I should take over from
where he stopped. He has a phone with which he calls people. Some of
those that my boss had collected money from before forced themselves
into the house and that created a problem for me.
“I collected about N750,000 from five people. I told them I
would be returning their money in instalments, but they refused. It was
my boss that set a trap for me after which the police arrested me.”
A top official of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Lagos State
Command, who asked not to be identified, denied that Adewale was the
brains behind the fraud.
He said, “The developer has been remanded since last year and
there has not been any communication between him and the apprentice. The
apprentice took advantage of the developer’s condition to commit the
fraud. They have not been having any dealings since his incarceration.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, promised to react to the case after being brifed by the division.
He had yet to do so as of press time.
It was, however, learnt that the police arraigned Owolabi before an Ogba Magistrate’s Court on 10 counts of fraud and stealing.
The charges stated that the defendant allegedly defrauded five people.
The charges read in part, “That you, Adeniyi Owolabi, on March
7, 2017, at about 8am on Adekujo Street, Alakuko, Lagos, in the Lagos
Magisterial District, did fraudulently obtain the sum of N300,000, from
one Oketokun Tolulope, on the pretence of securing him a two-bedroomed
apartment, knowing same to be false, thereby committing an offence.
“That you did steal the sum of N230,000 only from one Fagboye
Muyiwa, on the pretence of securing him a flat and knowing same to be
false, thereby committing an offence.”
The police prosecutor, Inspector E. Ayorinde, said the offences
were punishable under sections 312 and 28 of the Criminal Law of Lagos
State, Nigeria, 2011.
The defendant pleaded not guilty and elected summary trial.
His counsel asked the court to grant him bail in liberal terms.
The Magistrate, Mrs. Temitope Oladele, granted him bail in the sum of N250,000 with two sureties each in like sum.
The case was adjourned till April 21, 2017.
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