22nd December, 2011
The Police at Area ‘G’ Ogba, Lagos State southwest Nigeria, have launched a manhunt for a businessman who allegedly duped 50 women of N168 million.
The businessman, according to the police, told some women he could assist them to buy cheap textile materials at Cara market in Kano State.
The women were said to have contacted their friends and they all contributed N162million which they gave to the agent to help them buy the textile materials.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the businessman later told the women that the textile materials which were being conveyed to Lagos State in three trailers trucks were seized by the Customs and that he needed N6million to facilitate the release of the goods.
P.M.NEWS source revealed that on hearing this, one of the women slumped and died and the one who borrowed N15million from the bank now has stroke and is hospitalised.
The women were said to have raised the N6million for the agent to effect the release of the goods.
After two months of waiting, one of the victims was said to have got information that some textile materials were being sold at auction price by one Alhaji and she decided to go and buy since the ones she had paid for have been seized by the Customs. On getting there she was said to have discovered that her goods were among those being auctioned which she immediately reported at Area ‘G’ Police Command.
P.M. NEWS learnt that the Area Commander immediately sent an anti-robbery team to arrest the Alhaji who allegedly told the police that he bought the goods from the Customs. According to Supol Yemisi Ali, who heads the investigation team, the police have written to the Customs to find out if they truly sold the goods because, according to her, before the Customs can auction any contraband, the items must have spent at least six months in their custody.
When P.M.NEWS visited Area ‘G’ Police Command, Ogba, only a trailer load of the textile materials was brought as the Alhaji has allegedly sold off two trailer loads of the textile materials.