When the car parked in front of his stall around 9am that day, Chinedu, a dealer in foodstuff in Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos, was happy. The day was starting well, he thought, as the lone occupant of the car alighted.
The man asked him: “How much is a bag of rice?” Chinedu answered: “N13,500 sir. How many do you want?”
Amidst the haggling, the customer asked him to calculate the cost of three bags “N40,500”, he said, but the customer insisted on paying N40,000 and Chinedu agreed. The customer paid him, but after counting, Chinedu found that the money was incomplete and he returned it.
He said the customer blamed him for not counting well and asked if he was educated. The customer also confirmed that the amount was not correct and brought out fresh new notes from his car, which Chinedu counted and found to correct. He then put the rice in the car trunk.
But when the customer left, Chinedu realised that he had been paid with fake notes wrapped with good ones. He said an original N500 note was on top and an original N1,000 note beneath.
Chinedu told The Nation it was the first time he was experiencing such in his years of doing business. He used to sell at the old Daleko Market before moving to Idi-Araba a week ago.
He said: “I can’t explain what happened because I don’t even know how it happened. Since I started business, I have never witnessed such. I was here and he asked me how much I sell rice; I asked him how many bags he wanted to buy and he said three bags. I told him N40,500 but he said he would pay N40,000. I said okay and he dipped hand into his pocket and gave me N39,000 but I told him it was not complete. Then he went into the car and brought out new money. This one was complete. He opened the boot and asked me to put the bags of rice there.”
“After he left, a woman came to ask how much I sell rice. I answered her and she told me to measure it before she comes back with money, but I told her I won’t measure until she comes. When she left, I quickly went to count the money again and as I was counting, I saw that the money was fake. That was when I shouted for people to hear.”
Chinedu said he had never seen the man before, adding that his approach was so nice and friendly. He said the man wore a white shirt on black Jeans trousers with a face cap and drove down from Ajegunle Street in Idi-Araba.
Chinedu said he has been more careful since then, adding: “if you give me money, I will check it well. Do it like this and do it like this. I feel bad about it but I know God will catch him one day. I have not told my Oga (boss) about it and I don’t even know how to tell him. In my life, it can never happen to me again. I don’t know of another person. Although I have heard there are lots of fraudulent people around but I didn’t know it could happen to me.”
According to traders in the area, it is usual occurrence for people to spend fake money as the Idi-Araba axis is dominated by fraud operatives.
A woman in her 40s who sells yam, potatoes and yam flour opposite Chinedu’s shop told The Nation that she had fallen victim on many occasions in the past, but she said she never lost such a huge sum.
She said: “Usually, they spend fake money around; between N500 and N1,000 but this one is too much. If you see the man; he is a fine man. You wouldn’t even believe he could do such a thing. It happened in the morning when I just came. I had not even displayed my wares. I was sitting in my shop when I saw him pack in front of his shop. The man was very sharp and fast. He didn’t even use up to three minutes. I think it’s because they saw that he was new in the area. Even, I have collected fake money several times. What the man did is very bad. People around this area are very fraudulent.”
A computer operator said: “It is common around here but they usually give it two to three months interval before carrying out their operations. It happens especially when they notice the person is new in the area. We just heard him shouting in Igbo language. It was our neighbour that translated it to us that he was robbed of N40,000. Even we have also been robbed before. They stole our camera and money. In fact, we sold recharge cards before but we stopped because of fraud.”
Another man, who had a similar experience, said the customer could have succeeded with the aid of juju (charm). He said he was duped of N80,000 before.
“They study the time they come. In my own case, I was about to close for the day when the man started begging me to sell. I was even thanking God for bringing him. By the time he gave me money, the first five pieces were original; so I thought they were all original. I didn’t believe they could give me such money without detecting because I believe I’m a Lagos man and I’ve been in business for long.”
