When John Daramola first heard about Into Migration, a travel agency founded by Ibilade Adesokan, he did his due diligence before paying N15 million for a work permit to the United Kingdom.
FIJ learnt that it was his former boss who told him about Into Migration in 2023 during a migration-related conversation, and Daramola, a resident of Ibadan, Oyo State, went the extra mile to verify the legitimacy of the travel agency.
“After speaking with the CEO, whose contact my former boss shared with me, I started doing my investigation online first. I found that they had been in the system for a while, based on some testimonies I came across,” he told FIJ.
“I also visited one of their offices in Ibadan. And the information I got there was in tandem with what the CEO had told me, so I thought there wasn’t going to be a problem.”
Between the first week of December 2023 and the first week of January 2024, he had paid a total of N15 million for the UK work permit.
Screenshots of each payment update he sent via WhatsApp to Into Migration’s CEO, Adesokan, acknowledging the payments, can be found on this Google Drive link.
Adesokan had promised the process would take three months, but Daramola was met with disappointment instead of good news when the time came.
Even when the travel agency said he could opt for a work permit to Ireland, due to a policy issue with the UK, and he agreed, the company still failed to deliver as promised.
When he asked for a refund in December 2024, Into Migration told him 10 per cent of the N15 million would be deducted. Even though it was the company that failed to honour the agreement, he agreed. Yet, he has only received N2 million so far.
Describing the series of events that ensued after he had made full payment for the initially agreed UK work permit, the Ibadan resident said:
“After a month, I asked for progress, and they told me everything was good. After two months, I still asked them for an update. Then, towards the third month, they asked me to go for a Tuberculosis test in Lagos. They paid for it, though, and I forwarded the certificate to them.
“But three months went by, and I did not hear from them. I reached out to them after four months. At some point, they stopped responding. Then I reported to the person who introduced me to the travel agency. That was when I found out that my former boss was the brother of the CEO.
“Then they reached out to me and said that UK policy had changed.”
While Daramola understood the possibility of such policy changes, what he found distasteful was Into Migration’s lack of communication.
“I cannot drop N15 million, and you just keep silent without giving me an update on what I paid for or without letting me know the progress. So, they set up a meeting between me and some other people to explain everything in detail. They told us to be patient,” Daramola said.
“The CEO called for another meeting months later, and said he was ready to refund those who wanted to opt out, but he said the company currently had a package for Ireland, and that the processing would only take two months.
“He said, for those who want to opt in, he would prioritise those of us who had paid for the UK work permit for over eight months. I was one of the few people who opted for Ireland after he promised us two months. We did not hear anything after two, three months.
“I later realised that the female officer in charge of processing my documents barely responded to messages. I had to get all their managers’ numbers, both within and outside Ibadan, and started reaching out to them.
“I also realised that they were just making decisions without even considering the client. By that time, it seemed like they just wanted to keep my money. If I had invested that N15 million in a business, I would have made a profit.”
It was at this point that Daramola decided to opt out and request a refund.
He told FIJ that several managers called to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up.
“They sent me a cancellation form and said opting out of the service means I would lose 10 per cent, which is N1.5 million out of the N15 million I had paid. That means I would be getting N13.5 million,” Daramola explained.
Daramola filled and signed the cancellation form on December 22, 2024.
Into Migration paid N2 million in April, following a series of calls and messages from the Ibadan resident. Nothing else has been paid ever since.
When Daramola first spoke with FIJ in June, he said the company had fixed a meeting for June 15 to resolve the pending refund, but he had reservations.
FIJ emailed the travel agency on June 5, 10 days before the scheduled meeting, but it was neither acknowledged nor responded to.
Instead of responding to the media inquiry, Into Migration reached out to Daramola to ask why he got FIJ involved despite the proposed meeting.
Daramola’s message to FIJ after Into Migration reached out to him about the media inquiry.
When Daramola contacted FIJ again in July to provide an update, it wasn’t with good news. The travel agency had made yet another promise.
“They offered me another package instead of a refund, and they promised 15 days of results. But as usual, nothing happened. I asked them again for my refund, but they went silent,” Daramola said.
“At this point, I am only interested in my money. It’s over one year and 8 months. I just need some sanity and peace.”