How Guineans swindled me of N23m, by Nigerian businessman

By Job Osazuwa
To Onuzulike Godsown Odilichukwu, it still appears like a
dream. He went blindly into a deal with some fellows
purporting to be businessmen in Guinea who told him they
dealt in gold.
This young man had stumbled on this big time ‘gold
dealer’ on the Internet, and later travelled to Guinea to
confirm that the beautiful profile he had read online about
the dealer was true. According to him, when he got there,
he was convinced beyond every reasonable doubt that he
was in for a big and real business. He was showed real
gold and he saw what looked like a full-fledged company
established for the business. The proposal was attractive;
his joy was full.
But soon, his eyes were opened. His excitement turned
sour and he began to regret. He then blamed himself for
not looking very well before he leaped.
It all started on December 18, 2013. Odilichukwu said that
was when the sales and purchase agreement between Mr.
Abdoul Mohammed Bah, representing Kouroussa
Community Development, Conakry, Guinea and himself,
Onuzulike Godsown Odilichukwu, representing Friends of
Gods FMPCS Limited, Enugu Nigeria was reached. Mr.
Bah allegedly agreed to send three kilograms of 22-plus
carat gold to Odilichukwu represented by his agent,
Osinachi Ogbuechi.
The Guinean, Daily Sun gathered, asked Odilichukwu to
make an upfront payment of 26, 000 dollars into his
account at International Commercial Bank Agency
deTaouyah, with account number 0401117005, for one
kilogram of gold. The seller was said to have assured his
customer that the goods would leave Conakry immediately
the additional 2,000 dollars as running cost was paid.
Without any suspicion of foul play, Odilichukwu happily
complied and paid the said money. Bah promised he would
deliver the goods to Ogbuechi in South Africa within 48
hours. Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the
Nigerian’s sad journey.
Odilichukwu said he became even more comfortable when
along the line, Bal introduced one Bendou Alpha also
known as Okafor Azu Ndukwe into the picture. Seeing a
fellow Nigerian and tribesman involved in the deal, he went
to bed with both eyes closed. But he soon realized that all
was not well with the business deal.
The goods, which Bah claimed was posted through Skynet
Post Courier, Guinea, was said to have been intercepted by
Customs at Kenya International Airport because it lacked a
certificate of non-criminal origin. Odilichukwu said Bah
therefore requested more money from him to clear the
mess so that the goods could be released.
“I was able to entrust another 9, 000 dollars to him, which
I paid through bank transfer. He demanded another 9, 000
dollars for the clearing of the goods when it got to its
destination. I was able to give him 7, 000 dollars through a
staff in Skynet Shipping Company named, Alie Alusine
Kamara. Other money he collected from me in one way or
the other was 48,750. 00 dollars,” he recalled.
But the 48 hours that Bah gave to deliver the goods
crawled into weeks and weeks snowballed into months.
Yet, no gold was delivered. While waiting for the goods to
be delivered, Odilichukwu said he developed an inevitable
fever and nightmare. He became a watchman over his
mobile telephone, earnestly waiting for that singular call of
cheering news about his allegedly seized carat gold.
Painfully and devastatingly for him, he never received such
expected news till date.
Odilichukwu’s trouble is aggravated by the fact that he
didn’t venture into the blind business alone. In fact, the
larger part of the money committed to the fruitless
transaction was provided by his friend and business
partner, Ifeanyi Ozor Matins. The deal, this correspondent
learnt, has caused a friction between the two friends. He
said Ozor had understandably blamed him for dragging
him into a business he didn’t carry out a thorough
feasibility study on.
Since it dawned on Odilichukwu and his friend that they
might have been duped, he said he had employed every
possible means to recover their money but all to no avail.
While running around, to arrest and prosecute Bal and his
associates, he lamented that he had spent approximately
extra 37, 000 dollars, making a total of 85, 750 dollars.
He had, on April 9, 2014, petitioned the Deputy Inspector
General of Police, Department of Investigation, Force CID,
Abuja, drawing the attention of the Commissioner of
Police, INTERPOL, to use his good offices to bring Bah to
book and ensure he pays his money.
He lamented that Bah’s conduct had greatly affected his
financial status and had plunged him into huge debts,
leaving him to now live from hand to mouth.
In response to Odilichukwu’s letter to the Parliament of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),
dated September 14, 2015, a letter signed by the Speaker
of the Parliament, Ike Ekweremadu, said the issues raised
by Odilichukwu were criminal in nature, explaining that
they were outside the mandate of the parliament. He,
however, advised him to pursue the matter with the
relevant law enforcement agencies of the country
concerned.
Meanwhile, Odilichukwu is not satisfied with the way the
Guinean law enforcement agents are handling the matter.
The distressed young man has accused the Guinean police
authorities and other concerned agencies of compromise.
According to him, they are shielding an international
fraudster from facing the music.
The letter to the ECOWAS Parliament by Maxwell Opara
and Associates, on behalf of Odilichukwu, dated May 5,
2015, reads in part: “Odilichukwu became victim when one
Bal with passport number 127835 and one Azu Ndukwe
Okafor (a Nigerian resident in Conakry) jointly and
severally defrauded him of a whooping total sum of 48,
750 USD. The suspects lured our client and deceived him
into believing they were gold merchants and accordingly, a
deal was struck.
“Our client sought the intervention of the Nigeria Interpol
and other law enforcement agents, that of Guinea and the
Nigeria Embassy. Though, the suspects were arrested in
Guinea, they were quick to lure the law enforcement
agents there and the judicial system to compromise on
the matter. The criminals were left to escape from justice.
We are deeply shocked at the lukewarm attitude and
indifference of the Guinea authorities.”
In the same vein, Micahel NNaekpe and Co wrote the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, dated June 26, 2014,
soliciting on behalf of Odilichukwu for justice to prevail in
the matter. They pleaded with the ministry not to allow the
matter to be swept under the carpet in Guinea.
The letter, copied to the Inspector General of Police and
others, partly reads:  “Unfortunately, however, the Guinea
suspects were all released, leaving only their Nigerian
counterparts, including Ndukwe Okafor in custody.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing, we humbly urge
your Ministry to ensure that our client obtains justice.
“To direct the Nigerian embassy in Conakry to offer more
assistance to our client, with a view to ensuring that all the
suspects in the matter are diligently prosecuted in court
regardless of their nationality.
“To request from the government of Guinea, the extradition
to Nigeria of Mr. Ndukwe Okafor and other Nigerians
fingered by INTERPOL as chief suspects in the crime, so
that they can be tried in a Nigerian court.”
During a chat with Daily Sun, Odilichukwu promised to
make himself available anywhere, any day to offer any
further needed evidence to substantiate his claims.
“All l need is for my swindlers to get arrested and made to
pay my money. Most of the transactions were made are
back up by documents and pay slips. They have not and
cannot deny it,” he said.