Badoo:2 brothers rent same apartment out to 100 tenants in Lagos

Two brothers, Idowu Usman, 40, and Rasheed Usman, 38, have  been arrested and charged before Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding more than 100 prospective tenants of over N2 million in Idimu, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.

The two brothers allegedly used a room and parlour apartment located at 9, Adetayo Street, Idimu, Lagos to defraud prospective tenants under false pretence of renting the apartment to them.

When they were arraigned in court, the suspects admitted obtaining the money under false pretence and pleaded guilty to a 13-count charge.

The police at Area M Command, Idimu arrested the brothers when a fight broke out among their victims when they wanted to take possession of the apartment.

According to some of the victims who were present during the court proceeding, it was after they paid for the accommodation and when they wanted to move in that they discovered that more than 100 prospective tenants had also paid for  the same apartment, alleging that all of them  paid over N2 million to the brothers for the apartment.

Some of their alleged victims are Uche Eze, David Nwachukwu, Emmanuel Enyia and  Michael Job.

Nwachukwu narrated in court that he saw an advert that the room and parlour appartment was for rent and when he contacted the suspects, they lured him to pay for one-year rent in line with the state government tenancy law.

He said he did not suspect foul play until when he went to the house and met more than 10 people who wanted to occupy the same apartment.

Another victim, Job, said he fell for their trick when the suspects asked him to pay N120,000 for one year with an agreement fee, which he did. But it was when he went to clean up the place and saw people fighting over the apartment that he realized that he had been duped by the brothers.

Job said it was during the fracas that the police at Area M Command, Idimu were contacted.

The suspects were subsequently arrested after several complaints by  the victims who alleged that they paid the brothers for the same apartment.

The brothers were arraigned before the court on a 25-count charge of obtaining and stealing under the Criminal Code.
They pleaded guilty from count one to 13 of obtaining under false pretence and pleaded not guilty of count 14 to 25 of stealing.

The presiding Magistrate, Mrs M. B. Folami granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till 1 July, while the suspects were remanded in prison pending when they will fulfill their bail conditions.

_ynaija