Tony John, Port Harcourt
Over 70 victims of land fraud in Rivers State recently staged a peaceful protest at the Rivers State Police Command headquarters in Port Harcourt, demanding for the re-arrest of one Kelly Nowgu, a land developer and real estate agent based in the state.
Nowgu was accused of receiving millions of naira in exchange for different parcels of land at Ipo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state which did not exist. His victims during the peaceful protest begged the state police command to re-arrest and place him in custody to ensure he refunds the several millions of naira he had already received from his clients without delivering their purchased property to them.
The accused was arrested two weeks ago by the police, but was granted bail on conditions that he refunds all monies collected from his clients and also report back to the police headquarters intermittently. But, the group faulted the police for granting bail to the accused and refusing t re-arrest or charge him to court.
According to the victims, they were deceived into paying him money because he advertised his land business in a popular radio and television station in Rivers. Some of the protesters who spoke to Daily Sun said that they used all their savings to pay for the land believing the transaction was real.
The estate agent, according to sources, had used his link with some prominent individuals to swindle the unsuspecting members of the public of their hard earned money.
Investigation revealed that D-Kelly, as he is popularly called, always drove around town in a tinted Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with fully armed policemen as escorts. Reports from Sam Mbata street, where his office is located in the state capital, claimed that any time the suspect was in office, armed security men would flood the street.
Speaking on behalf of the victims, Michael Ezedike, said police must re-arrest the alleged fraudster to ensure a refund of their monies after failing to meet his bail conditions two weeks after his released from police detention on bail.
“Two weeks ago, this man (Kelly Nwogu) was arrested by the police and suddenly after his arrest, the next thing we heard was that he has been released from the police custody and from that date till now, we have been regular at the police headquarters from morning till night waiting for him to show up. But, we haven’t seen him yet.
“This man defrauded us of our money, deceiving us that he had land for sale at Ipo in Ikwerre local government area. But, when we went to the community to inquire if there was land owned by him in the community, the community leaders refused to speak to us and allowed us to fall victim of this fraud.
“This scam has been running since 2017 till date, nobody informed us. It is now that we are hearing that the land ‘De Villa’ showed and apportioned to us does not belong to him. As far as we (victims) are concerned, this fraud was not performed by just one man. He has collaborators including people from the community for this scam to come to have succeed for long.
“The law enforcement agencies are not assisting us; we have written to the EFCC and they have refused to act. We have also rewritten to the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State that we need them to act. Let them not shield him because he has money,” Ezedike said.
Another victim, Jenifer James, said her husband threw her out of her matrimonial home after he discovered she had been scammed. “I am currently stranded after paying for two plots with all my savings. My husband is so angry with me and has even sent me packing from the house because of this issue, that is why I abandoned everything else to follow this matter and recover my money.
“We are begging our Governor, Nyesom Wike, to intervene in this matter and help us get back our money”, she appealed.