A Lagos resident operating under the pseudonym Ogbuemuda Ijambada has accused Aminu Idris, the owner of Mazugal General Services Limited, of absconding with an investment sum of N23 million.
Ijambada told FIJ that he petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and involved the police to get Idris arrested but both steps led to a dead end.
He said that a mutual acquaintance introduced Idris to him in 2021 as a Kano-based legitimate exporter with a company specialising in the international trade of soya beans. During one of the several times Ijambada communicated with Idris, he learnt that he could invest in Idris’ company and get a return on investment.
After some time, Ijambada said, he invested N23 million with Mazugal General Services Ltd. The potential return on this investment was $47,000. It was supposed to last for a maximum of eight weeks. To date, he hasn’t received either his money or his promised return.
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“We had a lot of back and forth for about three months. I asked for proof that he had a supply contract to Algeria, where he claimed he exported goods to. He provided documents, and I verified them. I also did my due diligence and everything seemed legitimate, even his website,” Ijambada said.
Between December 3 and 14, 2022, Ijambada transferred a total of N23 million to the account of Mazugal General Services Ltd., which was indeed a registered exporter of agricultural products at the time.
SUSPICIONS
Ijambada told FIJ that although Idris assured him that everything seemed fine, he began to notice inconsistencies around February 2023, when the investment had matured.
Repeated follow-ups led to further disappointment. At one point, Idris sent a fake telex document, a forged international transaction proof, to pacify him.
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“I’ve received genuine telex documents in the past. The moment I saw what he sent, I knew it was fake. I even contacted Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank) to confirm, and they verified it wasn’t real,” he recounted.
“But I didn’t stop at that. I sent an email to GT Bank. They said there wasn’t something like that. Then, of course, I made a mistake by not presenting the cheque the day he gave me. If I had done so, it would have been a bounced cheque and then they would have flagged that against him.
“So, when I wanted to present the cheque, they later even told me at the bank that he needed to split that cheque, as that amount of money cannot just be taken out once. They said he needed to split it to N10 million, N10 million and then N3 million, because that was what I paid.”
Ijambada said that after the fake telex incident, Idris started giving him varied stories. To find out what was going on, Ijambada contacted the Algerian-based organisation Idris claimed to have supplied.
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Upon contacting the company, Ijambada concluded that Idris was likely working with them and that they were a syndicate who knew about Idris’ activities.
“I only contacted them to know the situation of things because he was telling me the organisation was having problems with the Algerian government. They couldn’t access the accounts, they couldn’t pay. They had to even travel to Algeria to sort the payments. Everything was a lie and was planned,” he said.
LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS
In pursuit of justice, Ijambada filed petitions with both the EFCC and the Nigerian Police. While the EFCC has yet to make significant progress on the case, police efforts led to a dead end.
Ijambada said investigations traced a National Identification Number (NIN) and phone number linked to Idris’ international passport. However, the number was traced to an elderly family member, a retired teacher who had unknowingly helped register Idris’ NIN.
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“The police arrested that man and brought him to Oshogbo. Because the man was old, they could not keep him. They could not sue him as well. So, they had to release him on bail to say the guy will come,” he said.
“But what we discovered was, when the police arrested that man, he put a lot of calls through and was willing to make N5 million payments. But immediately the man got released again, only because the police could not continue to keep the man as a result of his health, Idris went missing.
“It’s been over a year now. I’m just frustrated. I believed in the idea because I did my due diligence, but I was played. Now, all I want is my money back.”
FIJ emailed Idris on Sunday but he had not responded at press time.
The post Mazugal General Services Ltd’s Aminu Idris On The Run With Lagos Man’s N23m for 2 Years After Failed Export Business appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.