Some traders and market women in the Alapere area of Ketu, Lagos State, have accused Taiwo Adebisi Foundation, a Lagos-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), of deceiving and defrauding them.
In a series of interviews with FIJ last week, the women described how the NGO approached them with promises, significant among which were scholarships for their children to study abroad and access to poverty relief funds.
FIJ gathered that the Taiwo Adebisi Foundation had organised an outreach in December 2022 at the Tamroyale Multipurpose Hall, Mare Schools in Ketu. According to the accounts of the traders, the NGO promised them access to these opportunities if they registered with N2,000 each.
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A market woman who chose to be called Alhaja told FIJ how she registered herself and her two children, especially because of the scholarship that her children could benefit from the NGO.
Nothing gave her any reasons to be suspicious when a man, who appeared to be elderly, led a large number of people to her area on a poverty alleviation campaign. Against her son’s better judgment, she was resolute to sacrifice N2,000 for a better future for her children and herself.
“On that day, they were talking about it in the next stall to my own. When I asked and they told me, I didn’t think twice. I registered for myself and my children. If with just N2,000, I can register to access big things like that, is it not good?
“My son said something about not trusting people, but it did not matter. I ended up paying N6,000. I registered for him and his sister. The man was fairly elderly, and they were not forward. Also, there were a lot of us there. So it was easy to hand over the money.”
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Arike Amoda (not real name) has reasons to believe that the NGO collected money from more than 5,000 people. Amoda told FIJ that she was sold the moment she noticed many market women jostling for a spot in the registration queue.
“Like every other person that registered, I paid N4,000 to the Taiwo Adebisi people because other stall owners near me were talking about them. They came in their numbers,” she told FIJ.
“They were promising us scholarships for our children. They told us that for everyone that registered, we could get at least N200,000 in cash if we bought the form. People were plenty. My receipt had a number at the back: 5,8007. So, imagine N2,000 from that many people. I am sure they have registered over 5,000 people.”
REGISTRATION RECEIPT ISSUED BY THE TAIWO ADEBISI FOUNDATION TO MARKET WOMEN
TALLY NUMBER AT THE BACK OF THE REGISTRATION RECEIPT
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‘SOME OF US HAD TO BORROW‘
The traders that spoke to FIJ also seem to be unanimous on one thing: the N2,000 registration fee was hard-earned money. They described how, for some of them, securing this fee meant borrowing from other traders.
Amoda, for instance, told FIJ that she operates a retail snack business close to the hall the NGO used for its outreach in December.
“Like me now, I sell biscuits and sweets almost opposite Tamroyal Hall. I paid N2,000 for myself. I even registered for someone else. Some other people and I had to borrow money to quickly buy forms,” Amoda explained to FIJ.
For Samson Ajayi (not real name), it was his partner who registered on his behalf. Ajayi, who earns his living as a cab driver, recounted how his partner unexpectedly called him that afternoon to borrow the fee.
He emphasised that it wasn’t an easy decision. He further told FIJ the cost was equivalent to the profit he would get after offloading passengers twice.
“This woman just called me suddenly that I should send her N2,000. I didn’t believe her at first. You know women can be tricky when they want to collect money,” he said.
“I had not carried many passengers that day. Everything I had on me was about N5,000. I had to send her N2,000, and another N2,000 for myself. That is about the amount of money I get from loading two times.
“Since December, I have been asking her about the money they promised. She looks just as confused as I am. I kept the paper they gave me. Anywhere I see these people, I will hold them.”
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THEY PROMISED WIDOWS HOUSES IN LEKKI
Aside from the market women in Alapere, Taiwo Adebisi Foundation also targeted the aged and vulnerable people in Alapere, according to the account of the traders.
Amoda, in her interview, described how the foundation promised to relocate the elderly members of the community to new apartments in the Lekki area of Lagos State if they registered with N2,000.
“Even widows and widowers with no money rushed to register. The man said he had a house in Lekki for them. He promised them a room and a parlour self-contained, or was it a two-bedroom flat? I can’t remember,” she explained to FIJ.
Azeezat Isola (not real name), a widow, who also doubles as a market woman, spoke to FIJ about her experience with Taiwo Adebisi last year. In Isola’s interview, she described how amiable people from the foundation were and how she was taken in by the promise of a better house.
“I stay in Alapere. When those people came last year, the man was particularly friendly. As a widow, I stay with one of my children, and rent can be sometimes too much to pay,” she said.
“When you look at it, it was like they knew what I needed at the time. For instance, this rain is disturbing me in my current house. I cannot leave the place because, where is the money?
“It is where my husband and I stayed before he died. It is not very convenient. I would love a better place. So, I found money and bought the form,” she explained.
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I AM BUSY; DON’T WASTE MY TIME — Taiwo Adebisi Foundation
FIJ gathered from the available corporate records of the NGO that it was incorporated in 2021, with Taiwo Adebisi and his family as the stakeholders.
To confirm the allegations of the market women, FIJ contacted the organisation through the phone numbers written on the receipt issued to the market women. These numbers, according to FIJ’s findings, belong to one Mr. and Mrs Taiwo.
On Wednesday, FIJ called Mrs. Taiwo to comment on the allegations as a principal officer at the organisation. In a hastily presented response, she explained how the organisation only works as a mediator between the people and the government to bootstrap getting government scholarships for children of the less privileged.
However, she dismissed further questions about the registration cost and the rest of the promises made to the market women and the widows.
“Yes, you are on to the right person. What do you want to ask, fast? I am busy,” she responded upon FIJ’s first inquiry about her identity and connections to the foundation.
“That scholarship, they have to make sure they meet up with the requirement. Even, they are supposed to present admission letters to us for the school they want for their children abroad. It was ambassadors that promised them scholarships, not us. We are just like promoters.”
“These people have to present the admission letter to the foundation. We’ll now take it to Baba Agidi in Ibadan, so that they will give you a letter to the ‘abroad’ that they should wait.”
“Everything they promised is still being processed. It’s the government that’s making a bottleneck to them. If not, it could have been disbursed. They will exercise more patience.”
FIJ asked to know who the ambassadors are, and why they had to pay to access these opportunities. FIJ also asked about the widows and the relief fund for the market women.
“I don’t know anything about any N2,000,” said Mrs. Taiwo. “I am busy; don’t let my food get burnt on fire. I have explained what you wanted. What else do you want? I don’t understand.”
The post Lagos NGO Takes N2000 From Poor Widows to Give Them Apartment in Lekki — But It’s Fraud appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.