A cybersecurity student residing in Ibadan, Oyo State, has accused Oluwafemi Adeniran, a Nigerian based in the United Kingdom, of refusing to return his N9,492,000 after a failed Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) deal.
The student, who told FIJ they preferred to remain unnamed, said he paid Adeniran the equivalent of £7,000 on October 18, 2023, after an acquaintance in the UK recommended Adeniran as someone who could help him achieve his dream of working in the UK.
He said Adeniran assured him that the CoS would be ready within two weeks, so he made the full payment upfront. However, the CoS was still not ready two weeks after the payment.
“When I asked him for my CoS, he gave excuses. I let it slide for a few months, but when he still hadn’t provided the CoS as agreed, I got tired of his gimmicks and started requesting a refund. However, he refused to return my money,” the student told FIJ.
The Ibadan-based student said that when he started demanding a refund, one of the excuses Adeniran gave was that he had paid a friend, Ayo, to assist with the CoS, but this turned out to be false.
“I traced Adeniran’s office in Ibadan, where I found a staff member who disclosed Ayo’s number. When I contacted Ayo, he checked his records and confirmed that he had never received any money from Femi to obtain a CoS for me,” he said.
“I then demanded that Adeniran refund my money, but he refused. My lawyer wrote to him, and he admitted that he owed me, yet he still hasn’t paid. He has now blocked me on WhatsApp. I have sent him messages for months but received no response.”
When contacted, Adeniran told FIJ that he would repay the student ‘soon’ but did not specify when.
“I owe him, but things have been tough. I didn’t work for almost a year, but I will pay him soon,” Adeniran said.