Indian Cries Out Over Attempt To Hijack School

An Indian  proprietress of Mill Hills School, Ikeja, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria,  Mrs. Valerie Samuel, has cried out over alleged attempt by some people to take over her school through dubious means.

Dr. Valerie, an Indian, married to a Nigerian, said she had a contract with Mainstreet Bank Estate Company led by Charles Njoku, for the company to give her loan to renovate the school.

She claimed that in the contract she signed, the loan repayment will be concluded in 2016.

According to her, instead of the investment company giving her the loan, they opted for buying things for the school, carrying out unauthorised renovation and recruiting staff from accountants to cleaners, all in a calculated attempt to hijack the school from her.

“They claimed to have bought a generator which they forcefully imposed on the school for N9 million, but Mikano actually sold it at a face value of N3 million. Charles Njoku brought in used table tennis board and presented it as new to the school,” she said.

She also claimed that Njoku and Paul Ishaku Bako, brought thugs to the school to harass her and pupils, and that it was the prompt intervention of policemen from Area ‘F’ Command that saved the situation.

Reacting to the allegations levelled against him, Njoku denied them all, saying that he has nothing personal against Dr. Valerie, but only trying to recover his company’s money.

“It is my problem as the managing director of an investment company that I have dealings with to recover money given out as loans. I have nothing personal against her. “In three quarters, she is meant to pay N7.5 million.

In the first quarter, which  is January, she refused to pay. In the second quarter which is April, she refused to pay. In September, it was her guarantor who forced her to pay N4 million. As we are speaking now, she is in default of N18.5 million.

“You have not paid us our money. Have we no right, as investors, to say, ‘Madam, since you have failed to meet-up with your payments, leave the school for us so that we can recover our money?’”, he asked.

—Jamiu Yisa