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Badoo suspects set ablaze in Ogun
By Evelyn Usman & Daud Olatunji
ABOUT 150 residents seeking
accommodations at Iponri, Orile and Aguda, Surelere areas of Lagos, after
fleeing from Ikorodu over fears of falling victims of Badoo members’ rampage,
have been defrauded by estate agents to the tune of N50 million.
This is just like their Ikorodu
counterparts in Lagos, a mob, yesterday, set two suspected members of Badoo
gang ablaze at Ogijo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State. One of the
suspects, set ablaze at Magbo-Ogijo, was reportedly caught with a human skull,
while the second victim was burnt few kilometres away from the scene of the
first incident. Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, who was going
to a town hall meeting in Ogijo, was forced to stop at the scene of the second
incident, causing the mob to disperse.
He alighted from his vehicle and
ordered his men to pick the charred remains of the victim. N50m rent money
Meanwhile, it was double tragedy for 150 residents of Ikorodu, who fled their
abodes over fear of falling victims of Badoo cult, as they were allegedly
defrauded of money paid as rent for accommodations at Iponri, Orile and Aguda,
Surelere areas of Lagos.
At press time, the victims, comprising 100
families among them widows and their children, as well as bachelors and
spinsters, were still at loss on what to do. Some of them reportedly left their
Ikorodu abodes to squat with relatives and friends, when the spate of killings
by Badoo cult became unbearable. A suspect, identified as Adeyemi, has been
arrested by policemen attached to the Force Criminal Investigation Depart-ment,
FCID, Alagbon, Lagos.
Vanguard gathered that over 200
prospective tenants were allegedly defrauded by the suspect, out of which 150
were fleeing Ikorodu residents. N50 million was reportedly collected from the
prospective tenants. Some of the victims claimed to have paid N240,000 for a
room and parlour self-contained. However, trouble started at the point of
moving in, as some of them discovered that the apartments were already occupied
by tenants, who claimed to have also paid. Others discovered that keys of same
apartments they paid for were given to over five tenants.
Lamentations In an encounter with
the victims, who stormed a non-governmental organisation, NGO’s office at Alaka
Estate, Iponri, to lay their complaints, they lamented that they were stranded,
as they had already moved their property out of Ikorodu and their relatives’
homes. One of them, who gave her name as Mrs Johnson, said: “I fled my house in
Ikorodu following incessant attacks from Badoo.
An agent, who I contacted to help me
get a place, took me to a house undergoing renovation at Mashalasi Street,
Iponri. “I saw a woman, Mrs Fumilayo, and one other man called JJ. Mrs.
Fumilayo told me that she and her husband were the developers renovating the
house.
My agent and I inquired about a mini
flat and she said it was N250,000 for one year. “She told me to make payment
into her bank account, which I did; I brought the teller to her and was issued
a receipt. “She told me to come back in June with the balance of N100,000 for
agency and agreement fee. But when I got to the house, I was astonished, as the
room I paid for had been taken over by another family. “When I called her on
the phone, her line was switched off. I also called her husband, but the Police
picked his call and informed me that he has been arrested for defrauding some
people. “The Police told me to come and write my statement at Alagbon. When I
got there, I saw over 100 people crying that they were also victims. Most of
them are also from Ikorodu.” Victim zero Another victim, Linus Ejiofor, stated
that he had been squatting with a family friend since he left Ikorodu two
months ago, adding that he paid N200,000 for a self-contained apartment with a
promise to pay the balance of N150,000 when he gets the key, only to meet
another occupant in the apartment he paid for. Some of the victims blamed Linus
for introducing them to the agent that swindled them.
On his part, Goodluck, another victim, said:
“I paid N260,000 for a room apartment. I got a notice to quit from my landlord,
who said he wanted to demolish his house. “I paid cash to one Mrs. Fumilayo
Adeyemi and she gave me a receipt and told me to come back for my key. I have
been calling her line, but she is not picking her calls. “I decided to go to
the house only to discover, to my shock, that people were fighting to occupy
the particular apartment I paid for. Some of the people they duped also include
security agents.” Enter hoodlums He continued: “As if that was not enough,
thugs in the area took advantage of the situation and barricaded the house.
Thereafter, they started collecting
N50,000 from the tenants before they can be allowed inside. “We had no option
than to report at the NGO. We also protested to the Lagos State government
office at Alausa, Ikeja, from where we were directed to the Ministry of
Housing.” Petitions to Abuja Chief Executive Officer of the NGO, Barr. Ene
Onobe, the Lagos State Government Office of Public Prosecution, on behalf of
the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, in separate petitions to the
Deputy Inspector General of Police Intelligence and Investigation, Force
Headquarters, Abuja, also urged the police to thoroughly investigate the
matter.
When contacted, the Deputy
Commissioner of Police in Charge of Administration at the FCID, Alagbon, DCP
Ozioko, confirmed the arrest, stating that a thorough investigation is being
conducted on the matter.” He added: “A lot of people are coming to report that
they have been duped. We are conducting a thorough investigation and the
suspect is in our custody.”
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