Rein In Fraudulent Agents, Landlords

When it comes to house scams in Lagos, history seems to repeat itself with an alarming accuracy and frequency. A landlord or developer begins to build a house somewhere in the state and before completion, he begins to rent out flats to house seekers who rush in to pay, desperate to find a place to live.

However, weeks or months after, the house seekers realise that they had been duped and the flats they paid for had already been given out to other people.

The landlord or developer is arrested. He pleads to pay back the money in a few months. He is released on bail and the story ends with the duped house seekers unable to afford legal fees, left in the lurch to lick their wounds.

On investigation, it is discovered that money paid by the house seekers was used to complete the house.

There is a typical case in point. On 15 July, more than a hundred house seekers congregated at 59, Oriola Street, Alapere-Ketu, each of them hoping to be given a key to a flat in the newly completed building after they had paid for flats in the building. But, they soon realised that all the 13 flats in the building had already been given out to other people and the landlord and developer were nowhere to be found.

Policemen were called in and the landlord, Salawudeen Ishola, was arrested. He is now held at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, and is pleading to pay back the money in six months.

He may be released on bail and the story may end there with the house seekers losing patience and unable to afford legal fees.

The duped house seekers have sent petitions to the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, the Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Special Fraud Unit and State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, where the matter is being handled.

But so far, they have been unable to get their money back as the suspected fraudulent landlord continues to plead for more time to pay back.

Among the people who were duped was a 69-year old woman, a newly married couple hoping to move into their new apartment, and a soon-to-be married couple who had planned to start their life in Ketu.

Many of those duped had never lived in Lagos and had just been transferred to the city of excellence by their companies.

Many others do not have money to rent a new apartment and some are even homeless.

Tunde, the landlord’s son who allegedly posed as the developer, was said to have fled to Ghana and the account number used to scam the house seekers was yet to be frozen.

The agony of the house seekers is increasing every day and many of them are losing patience.

With the law unable to protect them or compensate them as at when due, many of them are warning that they may take the law into their hands.

We believe that the Law should come hard on Ishola so as to serve as deterrent to other landlords and developers who use house seekers’ money to build or complete their houses and then ditch them.

We believe that a new law should be enacted by the Lagos State House of Assembly against fraudulent house developers and landlords to make them think twice before duping house seekers.

Those who use other people’s sweat to their own advantage should not be allowed to enjoy their loot. They should be punished and made to refund the money promptly.

House seekers should be protected. They should not be allowed to lose faith in the law or the authorities and be pushed to resort to self help.

We also believe that it is because various governments in Lagos have failed to address the housing crisis that dubious landlords and estate agents have continued to milk desperate accommodation seekers in the city.

The government should address the issue of housing in Lagos and make sure those who dupe others are not allowed to go scot-free.

The duped Ketu house seekers need their money back or roof over their heads.