Deaf couple duped

How a deaf couple were conned

This deaf couple few months ago fell into the hands of a 419 house agent whom they paid 450,000naira[four hundred and fifty thousand naira only] for a self –contained apartment .Sinces.Taiwo Abiodun writes

They are not only psychologically traumatised but also financially strangulated .They are in pains. They could not believe what happened to them could be true. This however reminded one a verse in the Bible that God regretted to have created human being when He discovered that men’s thought are full of evil.This summarises the pathetic condition of this deaf couple who paid 450, 000:00naira[four hundred and fifty thousand naira] for a self –contained apartment but were conned as the suspected fraudster bolted away and never showed his face again while the unlucky couple are now biting their fingers .

The couple Mr and Mrs Adewale Modupe Adebowale showed how they were badly hurt as they gave body signs , gesticulated and with other signs they used to communicate among themselves to this reporter as if he[ reporter] could understand. Yes, in annoyance if they could speak they would have spoken as they made effort to speak, unfortunately no words could come out from their mouths as hot teardrops fell like water from the face of the husband while the wife too was genuflecting, begging and was petting him to keep his cool. She raised her hands up to heaven and gave the signs saying God knows best. She genuflected , and rubbed her hands begging the government not only to fish out the conned man but to come to their assistance and get another place, an interpreter told The Nation.

A petition letter dated December 13^th by the couple was sent to The Nation office which reads ‘’We write to appeal for help over fraudulent activities of a landlord and his agents who duped us of the sum of Four hundred and fifty thousand naira [#450,00:00] being three years rent payment at No 38C Dairo Street , Ketu-Lagos.We are deaf couple, the husband is a shoemaker while the wife works as factory worker at Jagal International Group,at Ikosi Road –Oregun-Lagos’

Sir/Madam , we borrowed money from my wife’s company an d added our little savings to rent a mini flat as a one room apartment we are currently living at Ojota becomes too tight and with no sufficient space .The money was paid twice in April and May this year .But , since then when we asked to pack into the house, we found out that some other tenants are living inside .When we sought to collect back our money it proved abortive as we cannot see the landlord since May nor his agent found as well.We reported at Police station at Ogudu Road Ojota [close to our residence], the police are yet to assist us locate the people.

At work , my wife is always moody and lose[sic] concentration which led to her having an accident recently in which she lost a finger .She suffered for two months as she went for surgery on the lost finger .We thank God she is better but yet she is still worried about the rent which the dubious landlord and his agent defrauded us.We need your help to reclaim our money .

Kindly please have mercy on us as we are both profoundly deaf and cannot be begging around , we need a new place to live and if we can collect back our money we want to look for a new place.

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding and May Almighty God bless you abundantly [amen] .

Showing the photocopy of the receipt of 450,000naira to this reporter which dated 07-05-2010, with the letter headed that reads ALPHA PROPERTIES ,Real Estate Agent , Property Developer &General Contractor , 22, Oyebajo Str., Fadeyi ,Lagos State.Te:07036519371, and 07060576476, with receipt number 0000199, stating that the couple had paid 420,000naira, while on the back of the receipt were the following statements ;pay twenty thousand naira remain[sic] ten thousand , make sure you pack in on Thursday next week.

However, when The Nation visited their Ojota residence, the couple showed this reporter all what they bought in preparation to go to their new abode; the paints they bought to paint their new proposed place, new settee , among other things they planned to take along to No 38C,Dairo Street, Ketu. The husband also through and interpreter told The Nation on how one of his wife’s fingers cut off while working as a result of frustration they were experiencing as she works as a factory worker where she borrowed money from.

Their interpreter ,Adewale Adeyanju who is the National President of National Handicap Carers Association of Nigeria [NAHCAN] who too is partially impaired interpreted their signs, as Modupe said ‘’ this place is too small for us , though the landlady has been nice to us and we have no problem but it is too tight and we are not comfortable living in this small too. I had a baby sometimes ago but the baby died , now we are looking forward to getting another and move into a bigger place.. She continued ‘’when we got to the house as stipulated after paying twice , we were driven away as we saw another tenant who had occupied the place allocated to us. All efforts to get the landlord failed as the suspect, Sunday, that collected the money from us had disappeared since May this year. When we made effort to locate the address on the receipt at Fadeyi , there is no such address.’’

On how they got the place, the couple through their interpreter said they were introduced to the landlord by somebody while one of the organisation’s interpreter ,Mrs Chidima Oyeleye went with them to pay for the house. When contacted on phone Oyeleye confirmed that she was aware of the money paid and was surprised that the couple could be swindled without pitying their condition.

When The Nation went along with the them to the house at No 38C ,Dairo Street, Ketu, the house containing six mini flats had been occupied One of the tenants ,Cynthia described the case of the couple pathetic, she said’’I don’t know how they had the effrontery to defraud the couple .I am here by sheer of luck as I was called where I was to come and quickly occupy a mini flat before others occupied it. The agent who also called himself Sunday had disappeared , and since then many people had been coming here to occupy or curse him, he was know to be the agent and developer whom we all paid to.’’, she added’’ many people were defrauded even policemen and Bankers , I believe over 50 people paid to the guy and the worse part of it is there is no soak away here. I used to go to the toilet in the office or use nylon bag where I defecate like others and throw it away in the morning .We are in a terrible condition here,’’

When The Nation visited the address of the agent Alpha Properties, 22,Oyebajo street, Fadeyi, Yaba, a shopping complex which is under construction was found there while some artisans working on the building said the suspect had defrauded many people and his case has been reported to the police at Sabo police station but did not know why he was released on bail. Another added that he had been charged to court ‘’but nobody could beat his chest and say he could identify him. Nobody knows him and he could not be identified by anybody We don’t have his photograph and it is the same man that let out these shops which are still under construction out.He collected a lot of money from over 200people and bolted away. We even learnt that he has other cases all over the place where he acted as agents and collected money from many people. When the case of the deaf couple was mentioned , a man who claims to be the leader of OPC said the suspect who is known as Sunday

Is even wanted by the residents, he said ‘’we will catch him one day, we learnt he has fled to the neighbouring country ,Cotonou , but God will catch him one day’’.

On the fate of the deaf couple , they are now soliciting to good spirited Nigerians to come to their aid.’’We are begging the Lagos state governor Babatunde Fashola to please come to our aid .It is unfair to see us being treated like this because of our disability .We are hard working and that is why we refused to go to the public to beg for alms. We are working as a factory worker and a shoe maker. We are living happily and thought of the future that was why we borrowed money and added it to our savings to take a self contained apartment but see where we are today.We are begging the public to please assist us ‘’, they begged as an interpreter interpreted what they said to this reporter.