”Pen Jewel” Housing Fraud: Lagos Journalists petition EFCC again.

For the second time in five  years, the aggrieved Lagos Journalists, who are  subscribers to the housing scheme christened “Pen Jewel” Journalists Estate, Abaren, Ogun state, have once again sent another petition to the Economic  and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the monumental fraud committed by the promoters that has since stalled the project.

 

In the fresh petition signed by Jiti Ogunye, counsel to Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Lagos Council, on behalf of aggrieved subscribers, they made  passionate appeal  to the new Acting Chairman of the Commission, Mohammed Umar,  to investigate the scam surrounding the housing project initiated by the outgoing National President of Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, (NAWOJ), Ifeyinwa Omowole. 

The subscribers called on the new Acting Chairman to ensure that they get back their hard-earned money that was diverted from those concerned. 

Documents attached with the petition showed how Ifeyinwa Omowole unilaterally withdrew the sum of  $227,000(Two Hundred and Twenty-Seven Thousand dollars)  from the domiciliary UBA account of the association and changed the dollars to Naira without the approval of all subscribers and Executive members. 

“Close to six years now, no houses built, no money refunded. A local company, PRIMEWATER VIEWS HOLDINGS, headed by Prince Tunji Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife’s brother was also involved.”

“Ogunwusi owns up to still having some of the millions of Journalists’ money with him. And claimed he used the money to import plumbing and electrical materials.”

“We will be glad if justice is done in this matter in order for the aggrieved subscribers to get the correct value of their money back.”

Affected Journalists also made it known that there is another set of smaller denominations of about ($28,000)Twenty Eight Thousend Dollars not collected by the bank then which they cannot account for. 

“Apart from the dollars contributed by Journalists,  we also paid additional money in naira close toN30m (Thirty Million Naira).”

Five years down the line, the said houses were still not delivered and after several complaints and demands from them, Mrs Ifeyinwa Omowole and Mr Deji Elumoye came out and once again addressed them at another congress of the NUJ (Lagos Chapter) alleging that the South African Company had left Nigeria due to alleged unfavourable business policies by the Nigerian government.

“The fraud actually started with the changing of dollars to naira. Omowole and the immediate past National Treasurer of NAWOJ, Mrs Tosin Odusola made huge withdrawals from the domiciliary and local accounts of NAWOJ without any due process, protocol and or the knowledge and consent of subscribers”

The affected Journalists therefore called on the  new EFCC chairman to do the needful.

“There are series of documents to show that Omowole at one time unilaterally withdrew a whopping sum of $227,000 dollars with Tosin Odusola co-signing as a signatory without the knowledge or authorisation of subscribers.”

Also, Odusola signed for the collection of almost $28, 000 dollars without accounting for all the money.

“To further worsen the situation, Ifeyinwa Omowole exchanged the dollars to naira without any authorisation, thereby making a personal profit of about N30,000,000 (Thirty Million Naira) on the rates she used at the time. 

“There was obvious breach of the obligations under the contract by the Managing Director of Primewaterview Holdings Nigeria Ltd after a whopping sum of N70,000,000 (Seventy Million Naira) had been purportedly paid to the company and yet there was nothing to show for it.”

Additional Access bank account just released showed how subscribers’ fund were share by Omowole to her cronies.

“Since we have new acting chairman, EFCC, affected Journalists thereby asked NUJ/NAWOJ for refund of all the dollars and excess profit made on the unauthorized exchange of the dollars and naira paid” Jiti Ogunye concluded.