In September, 2020, two young girls, Miss P and her friend who lived in Jabi village, Abuja, began to house-hunt towards the end of their rent in their current apartment at that time. They had hoped to get an apartment in an estate for safety reasons.
Through an agent, Gabriel Adikwu, they were informed of an apartment in EFAB estate in Life Camp, Abuja. According to what they were told, the apartment still had an occupant. Albeit, the occupant would be moving out of the apartment for Miss P and her friend, even though they did not get to see the interior of the room, that is, having full inspection of the apartment. Then they were also asked to pay a deposit amount before moving in.
It was risky, but they wanted it.
So Miss P and her friend began to rally round, looking for the money to pay. Miss P had to take a loan from her office, of which they would be deducting from her salary, including her savings from NYSC. Everything amounted to four hundred thousand naira, and they made the part-payment.
Afterwards, they kept calling this agent, asking if the occupant of their supposed new apartment was still in the apartment, especially since the rent in their current apartment was about to expire and they would be expected to leave. The agent kept assuring them that the occupant would soon move out.
Miss P and her friend, out of frustration, went to the apartment without the knowledge of the agent. When they arrived there, they saw a different person in the apartment, which took them by surprise. However, at the end of the day, they still listened to the usual “Don’t worry, he will soon pack out” story. When that did not seem like it was ever going to happen, Miss P and her friend then requested for a refund.
That was when they realized that they were in a bag of trouble.
The agent continued to tell one story or another, and it dawned on them that he was not willing to refund their money. Miss P’s friend wasn’t exactly bothered about fighting tooth and nail to get the money back, but Miss P was, and so she proceeded to Life Camp police station and made a report. The very next day, three other persons came to make a report on this same agent and the same apartment. One of the complainants was a policewoman, so she reported him to her superiors. He was arrested and taken to Area Command, the head quarters in Central Area, Abuja. Miss P was even called upon to write her statement.
He remained locked up until he refunded the money he owed the policewoman, but as for Miss P, she still did not get hers.
Anyway, being that they could not just detain a person and leave him there, the issue was taken to court, and so Miss P began to show up in court. The first day of the court arraignment, he showed up, and he was threatened to be officially arrested and taken to prison. He pleaded “Not guilty” to the claims that Miss P made in court, although he did not deny knowing Miss P.
He pleaded with Miss P profusely after the court hearing, saying, “Please, Miss P, I don’t want my name to be stained. I might need something in the future, but because I have gone to jail, I will be rejected…”
Miss P asked him to pay the money, and he made a promise to do so the next week, but then again, that was an old story; his next week never arrived. One lawyer also pleaded on his behalf, saying that they should settle it amicably; there was no need for a court case, but Miss P only wanted her money back, even if it was a part of it.
Bear in mind that this time around, the rent at their apartment had expired and they had had to move out. Miss P had to put her belongings elsewhere. She did not have anywhere else to stay, and it was so bad that she even considered returning to her hometown. Fortunately for Miss P, she was able to find another lesser apartment, of which she had to loan money from someone to pay for the rent. She was alone in her fight with Gabriel Adikwu.
Back to the court case, it was adjourned, and the next time Miss P showed up in court, he was absent. They continued to adjourn their case, and he never showed up. Each time their case was mentioned in court, he was never present; only Miss P was faithfully showing up in court, and then the court would end up sending a bench warrant to him through policemen. These same policemen would be requesting money for transportation and fueling of their car from Miss P to do their job.
Meanwhile, Miss P was barely managing to get by, because of the predicament that she had found herself in, so much so that she would trek to the court, or walk a longer distance to reduce the cost of transportation for her on empty stomach. When Miss P realized that for three court sessions he did not show up and the police were still making their request, she decided to stop showing up too, especially when she discovered that he was also “settling” the policemen through his lawyer, preventing justice to be served.
The prosecutor then called Miss P and asked her why she was absent in court, and that if she did not show up, the case would be closed. Miss P told him to let them close it; she was fed up already. Miss P was beyond frustrated; the company where she worked was facing some financial setbacks, so because of the house loan she took, they stopped paying her completely.
Life, at that time, was serving Miss P too many lemons than she could hold. If she had made lemonades with them, she would have owned a full lemonade company.
However, Miss P had another plan in mind. One day, she went to his house and seized some of his properties, but unfortunately, it turned out that they were not even worth much, so Miss P ended up giving them out instead. She later found out that the three other persons who filed a report against him got their money, but how they went about it, Miss P had no idea.
Up until this very day, Miss P never got a refund, aside from thirty thousand naira which he gave her at some point, with the annoying tale of not having money.
There are house agents, and there are dogs…beware!
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Haaa I feel sorry for Miss P
one just have to be extra careful these days, because a lot of people are looking for money they didn’t work for.
and for that agent he will definitely meet his own in the front.
Whatever one sows…
Omooo
That’s why they have now have registered housing and property agency.
A lot happens in different places concerning housing and property issues.
It’s quite sad what happened to Miss P
Having such bodies in this country is not the problem. Will they function effectively?
Thank you so much, such an amazing article that call’s us to be much more careful and vigilant.
Because of barking dogs…
Omo! This is as real as it gets.
Very real
Something similar happened to me as I was searching for a house few years ago, I must call em name self. Mr. Johnson, e no go better for you oo. This man promised me a beautiful, affordable house, but upon arrival, I found a dilapidated shack. The roof leaked, walls cracked, and the bathroom was a nightmare. I demanded an explanation, but Mr. Johnson just smirked, I nearly tear am slap. I sha left, heartbroken and wiser, very wiser oo, vowing never to trust a house agent again. Now I source for house on my own, and I have always been fortunate to meet directly with the landlord.
Lucky for you, because these agents and even landlords too🤦🏼♀️
We keep calling on the government when we the people and the real destruction. We the people and the really problems of the country,if we can work on our greed and self-centeredness the country will be safe to live on.
We are the real problems in this country.
Omo..see as my blood just dey boil…I have no words tbh, just a full rush of emotions.
It’s a lot, really.
Sometimes, I wonder why some people behave so odd. Collecting money from different people for the same apartment is very wrong. Honestly speaking, the agent knew exactly what he was doing.
I feel so sad that Miss P and her friend could not get justice at the end of it all.
Lastly, one has to be more careful when dealing with house agents to avoid this bitter experience Miss P and her friend had.
He knew what he was doing.
Abuja house agents? I’m sure everyone who has lived in Abuja will have a story or two about them. Unfortunately, for Miss P she learnt a bitter lesson. I hope she gets stability and be more careful next time.
She has gotten her stability, and a good lesson too.
Omooo
🤦🏼♀️
This is so real.
In all, this is my favourite paragraph;
“… too many lemons than she could hold. If she had made lemonades with them, she would have owned a full lemonade company.”
My favorite paragraph too😂
Everything is just sick in this country, the government, the judiciary, the people… I can’t imagine the trauma Miss p would have passed through due to the financial crisis she found herself
It was a really devastating experience for her.
Great
A
Seriously, I can relate to this cos it actually happened to me, I was only able to get half of the rent. Same storyline just that I was told he is the landlord not knowing he rented the space also.
God will give her the grace to get through it too.
House hunting is not for the weak
This is so sad.