Oyewale Oyesiji, an Osun State-based automobile engineer, who was extorted by Isaac Gbolahan Ogumefu, an employee of Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), an airport and aviation service providing company, has said the company was yet to provide him with the outcome of its investigation on the extortion incident.
On Saturday, Oyesiji told FIJ that the company’s investigation was taking too long.
“I am surprised the outcome of the company’s findings has taken this long,” said Oyesiji.
“When they reached out to me in December to say they were investigating the matter, they said they would reach out to me again as soon as possible.
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“It is well over a month since the incident happened and I have not heard from them again. I hope someone somewhere isn’t trying to sweep the matter under the carpet.
“Hopefully, they would still reach out to me as promised.”
Receipts Showing the N100,000 Payment Oyesiji Made to Ogumefu at the Time
On December 25, FIJ reported how Ogumefu embarrassed, harassed and extorted N100,000 from Oyesiji for booking a flight ticket to travel to South Africa with Air Cote d’Ivoire and another ticket to return to Nigeria with Asky.
While the extortion went on, Ogumefu said he would not allow Oyesiji to fly because he did not book his return ticket with the same airline. The incident happened on December 1.
At first, the SAHCO employee demanded a N300,000 bribe from the engineer to allow him fly to his destination. When the engineer told him he did not have that kind of money with him, he resorted to taking a N100,000 bribe from him.
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Isaac Ogumefu
Feeling he had been exploited because he was a first time flier, Oyesiji told his friend about the incident and his friends in turn posted his story on X, the microblogging site.
When SAHCO officials realised the matter had become viral on Nigeria’s social media space, they quickly reached out to Oyesiji, begging him to tell his friends to take down their posts, and promising him the N100,000 Ogumefu took from him would be refunded.
By the time Oyesiji landed in South Africa, he found out the N100,000 Ogumefu forcefully took from him had been refunded. He, however, told SAHCO to investigate the incident and ensure that Ogumefu received appropriate punishment for the trauma he caused him.
“It is about consequences. There should be consequences for anyone who feels he can use his position to defraud and humiliate his fellow man in this country,” Oyesiji told FIJ at the time.
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SAHCO again reached out to Oyesiji days later to apologise to him for Ogumefu’s actions and promised the matter was being investigated.
The company also promised him that the outcome of its investigation would be communicated to him as soon as possible. The engineer has, however, not heard from SAHCO to date.
FIJ sent an email to SAHCO for a reaction to Oyesiji’s narration on December 24, but it had not been responded to at press time.
The post SAHCO Yet to Provide Feedback on Probe Into Staff Who Extorted N100,000 From Passenger appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.