Man arrested in Lagos for swindling friend N2.4m
By Felix Kuyinu
A man, simply identified as Eruagah, has been arrested after being alleged to have duped his friend, Vitalis Darlinton, to the tune of N2.4 million while setting him up at the computer village in Ikeja, Lagos.
It was reported that the fraudulent act was carried out in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where both the suspect and the victim resided before the suspect tricked the victim to Lagos.
According to reports, Darlinton had informed Eruagah that he had raised enough money to travel abroad for greener pastures. It was when Eruagah discovered that the victim actually had such huge money that he promised to assist him to procure travel documents. After Darlinton gave him the money, he procured fake travel documents and brought him to Lagos having convinced him that he had already paid for the ticket for his travelling.
When they got to Lagos, Eruagah paid for an accommodation in a hotel at Iyana Ipaja area where they lodged.
The following day, he took Darlington to computer village to buy a phone as he would travel the next day.
On arrival at Computer Village, he bargained for a phone for N100,000 and told the owner of the phone that he wanted to withdraw money from a bank nearby asking Darlinton to wait behind at the store till he returned from the bank. He collected the phone and pretended as if he was going to the bank but escaped to Ikotun to sell the phone.
He was unlucky after he had negotiated with the buyer who demanded a receipt and he could not produce any.
After some scuffle by pedestrians he was handed over to the police at Ikotun Division where he was detained and interrogated.
Before then, Darlington has been rounded up at the market as a criminal and was about to be lynched after they had waited for Eruagah to no avail.
However, the victim was lucky as the police used Eruagah phone to call him. The victim picked the call and narrated to the police what Eruagah had done and that his life was in danger at the Computer Village.
The police then rushed down to Ikeja, rescued and brought him to the police station with the owner of the shop, where the phone was recovered and given back to the owner.
During the interrogation, Eruagah confessed that he procured fake papers and as such the victim could not travel abroad with the documents.
He was charged before Ejigbo Magistrates court for stealing phone and for defrauding his friend.
The Presiding Magistrate, Kayode Layeni, granted Eruagah bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum.
He was remanded in prison custody pending when he would perfect his bail condition while the matter was adjourned till 28th February, 2018 for trial.
