A Lagos-based businesswoman, Omotola Oyewole, has narrated how her friend, one Abayomi Owolabi, duped her of N2 million.
Oyewole, while giving evidence in the trial of Abayomi before Magistrate L.A. Owolabi of the Ogba Magistrate’s Court on Monday said she lost the money to an investment scam.
She told the court that they were friends before Abayomi introduced her to the shady business in June 2022.
“He (Abayomi) said he was an investment banker with Multibank Group. I would hear him have conversations on phone with people that he would give them their returns. Sometimes, he would also try to convince others to invest. He would tell me to invest also but I was hesitant at first. But whenever I was with him, he would receive calls and talk about the investment. That was what made me trust him.
“I later transferred to him a total sum of N2m. At first, I gave him some on June 6, 2022, and the second time was on June 9. He said he would pay dividends on the 5th of every month, starting from the following month. On June 30, I spoke with him about the dividends and he said I shouldn’t worry. But he ignored me since then and stopped talking to me and even picking up my calls,” she told the court.
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Speaking further, she stated that Abayomi, on July 4, picked up his call and told her that she might not receive any returns on the investment.
“When he finally picked on July 4, he told me to check the MoU that I might not get any ROI. I told him that I should get the N2m I invested if I couldn’t get any dividends. I wanted my money but he told me I would get my principal after 30 working days.
“I went to a police station when I saw that he wasn’t forthcoming. They invited him and when he got there, he was talking with so much pride. They asked me what I wanted and I said he should write an undertaking on when he would pay me. He wrote an undertaking to pay back on August 26, but he didn’t pay. I went back to the station but I felt that I wouldn’t get justice in that station. So, I went to the state police command and they invited him,” she added.
In his defence, Abayomi told the court that he also lost his money to the scheme, adding that he had paid the sum of N1,050,000 since the invitation by the police.
Magistrate Owolabi adjourned the matter till December 6 for a report of settlement.