Tunde was exhausted. He looked pale with his eyeballs bloodshot as he collapsed into a chair.

His threadbare flip-flop had piles of sand, which littered the spot where he sat in the eatery. With the dirt that settled on his scanty moustache and rough dark face, it appeared he had also yet to have a good bath in days.

But all these mattered less to Tunde, who had just escaped death by a whisker after being allegedly drugged and robbed by a sex worker.

“I fumbled,” he started, as he leaned forward and gripped this reporter’s arm while staring with pain into his face.

For some seconds, our eyeballs were locked.

Then he withdrew slowly, dropped his head and heaved.

“I regret my action. I am yet to get over the shock that I could have been killed because of N544,000.

“Assuming she poisoned me, I would have been gone forever. What would have happened to my children and my family?” he added and heaved again, deeply.

At the beginning

Tunde was a well-known businessman in Alimosho, the largest council in Lagos State, South-West, Nigeria.

He had a thriving secondary school and a big supermarket that ensured regular cash flow to his bank accounts. Life was treating him well.

A few years ago, he was embroiled in a bitter divorce case with his first wife that led to his unjust incarceration.

After the intervention of some rights activists, he was freed and won the custody of his three children.

Tunde moved on with his life and remarried.

His business boomed as he made an average of N7m per month in sales at his supermarket alone.

He expanded with a bakery and employed about a dozen workers.

Everything was smooth-sailing until June 2022, when some of his workers started stealing from his supermarket.

The thievery went on until April 2023, when the supermarket went down and he called auditors, who discovered that more than N6m had been stolen by the workers.

According to the 50-year-old, he was more disappointed in his two nieces who also participated in the fraud.

The Ondo State indigene said it was at this point he decided to bring his wife into the business to monitor the accounts.

In less than a month, Tunde said he discovered that his wife had also stolen N450,000 from the business.

“She said it was the devil that caused it. I developed high blood pressure and almost suffered stroke as my mouth started shifting sideways.

“My workers disappointed me, my nieces disappointed me, my wife, whom I feed and care for, disappointed me.

“I had a serious crisis with my first marriage that led to a divorce. But in reflection, my first wife is better than my second wife 10 times. In fact, they cannot be compared.

“As my health started failing, a doctor advised me to go to a hotel to rest. That was when I moved to Ehi Guest House for two weeks and was paying N18,000 per night. I was going to work from the guest house,” Tunde added.

Misadventure

The businessman said on Friday, May 12, 2023, an acquaintance, Femi Omosebi, who also worked with the Lagos Neighbourhood Security Corps, visited him at the guest house and suggested they go out to ‘flex’, that is, to catch fun.

Both Tunde and Omosebi drove to De Dems, a nightclub at Akowonjo, where sex workers usually line up on the road for customers.

This was where they picked Queen, a 22-year-old sex worker.

Omosebi said Tunde immediately warmed up to the prostitute as they embraced and chatted freely.

The time was 10pm.

“We all sat together to have fun. I ordered a bottle of beer, but egbon (Tunde) took a soft drink.

“The girl also asked for the same soft drink with egbon. We later gave the girl money to buy suya for us.

“I then asked egbon to leave the place and let us go home. He said he left his house over stress and he wanted to return to the guest house with the girl. I then agreed with him.

“Meanwhile, when we finished eating the suya, he excused himself, maybe to withdraw money or something else. When he returned, the girl asked him to finish her drink. He collected the drink and took it. I was surprised he would consent to such a request from a total stranger,” he added.

The security officer said he, however, observed that as Tunde drove back to the guest house, he staggered and almost hit other vehicles on the road.

He noted that when they got to the guest house, the situation got worse as the businessman was close to falling into a ditch.

“He was staggering and I was even joking that I was the one that took the beer, but he was the one that was intoxicated, and he abused me.

“The lady supported him till they got to the reception. I took the car key to drive out and promised I would come back the following morning,” Omosebi added.

Account emptied

By the following morning, Tunde woke up to discover that the Isoko, Delta State prostitute had vanished into thin air.

He was also oblivious of his environment until Omosebi returned.

Tunde said, “That was when I remembered that while we were at the bar, I excused myself to go and ease myself. It was around that time she drugged my drink and switched it with hers.

“I sensed something was wrong with me after taking the drink. But instead of asking Femi (Omosebi) to drive me away, I did not. This girl took me to my room, where she emptied my bank account.”

A statement of account of Tunde revealed that a total of N544,000 was transferred in tranches of N100,000, N50,000, N30,000, N70,000, N4,000, N50,000, N10,000, N5,000, N20,000 and N200,000.

The money was sent to different bank account numbers.

The victim said Queen left only N620 in the account before escaping.

“But I am surprised that this girl left the hotel without anyone informing me. They have four receptionists and two gatemen, how did she evade their vigilance?

“I met the hotel owner and demanded that they should play the CCTV so we could see the lady’s face because I did not know her; I met her that night. But they said their camera was not working. I was speechless,” he added.

The hunt

The case was reported at the Area M Police Command, Idimu, where the victim made a statement.

Tunde said after getting a lead from the police, he and Omosebi returned to De Dems and showed one of the people there his bank account statement to indicate that he had been defrauded.

At this point, one of the men identified Faith, a 20-year-old sex worker who benefitted from the illicit transfer.

She was subsequently picked up and handed over to the police.

It was gathered that the other two suspects were lured out and arrested in a hotel where they were lodging.

Omosebi and his commanding officer, Ijadola Olewashola, led the hunt that led to the arrests.

The sex workers, however, claimed that they had spent the money.

“I fumbled big time. I want to tell Nigerians that when you have a problem in your home, you should try to manage it yourself; walking out is not the best. I regret my action.

“I am not a saint; I feel bad that I fell into the hands of this Jezebel. I am yet to get over the shock that I could have been killed because of N544,000. Assuming she poisoned me, I would be gone forever. What would happen to my children and my family? Did you know that if the lady saw more than that amount, she could have killed me? And I never had anything with this girl,” Tunde added.

‘I aborted for Tunde twice’
Queen, in her statement to the police, confessed to taking the money from Tunde’s bank account.

The 22-year-old, however, claimed that she was in a relationship with the businessman and had aborted twice for him in the past.

She said, “I got to know him last year at De Dems. He approached me for a night hangout, which I agreed to. But on getting to the hotel close to De Dems, he changed his mind that he wanted me as his normal girlfriend, so we had sex that night without protection.

“So, that was how we continued until I got pregnant for him. I told him about it, but he quickly rebuked me that he was not interested and then I got rid of that. The relationship continued until I got pregnant the second time, which he also denied and I did the same thing I did the first time.

“However, he made many promises that he would give me money to establish myself because we talked as husband and wife; I know many things about him. This is a relationship of almost two years.

“On Friday, May 12, 2023, we met at De Dems as usual because our usual meeting is every Wednesday and Friday of the week.”

She explained that after they both drank, Tunde drove her to his room and wanted to sleep with her, but she refused because he did not establish a business for her as promised.

In response to her complaint, Queen said Tunde promised to surprise her that night.

“After much argument and fight for denying him sex, he demanded an account number and I gave him my friend’s Access Bank account number. He transferred N200,000 to that account and he showed me the proof, but I still complained that the money was not enough for the clothing business I wanted to start.

“He said he could not add to it as giving a woman N200,000 this period was big money. Then he started pressing his phone, but later started touching me that he needed to have sex with me, hence I considered him to have his way,” she added.

The sex worker said after the sex romp, Tunde slept off and she took his phone.

According to her, she knew his phone PIN and account details because they had been dating for a while.

She said she transferred money to her friends and also bought N5,000 worth of recharge cards.

“I did all these out of aggression and frustration and his wickedness because he had been sleeping with me without protection with promises of establishing a clothing business for me, which he failed to do for more than a year and eight months. He said he does not sleep with other ladies without protection except me and his wife, and he fears his wife a lot,” Queen added.

She denied drugging Tunde’s drink at the bar.

Her friends Chizoba, 23, and Faith, 20, said they only woke up to see their accounts credited with money without knowing the source.

Chizoba, a native of Isoko, Delta State, said Queen always used her (Chizoba) bank account for transactions because she did not have any of her own.

“She called me to know if I saw any money she transferred to my account while I was sleeping and when I checked, I then told her yes. But I asked her how did she get it and she said the man she had been dating for long and refused to take care of her just sent her only N200,000 and that what would the money do for her and because of that, she transferred another one by herself,” she added.

Faith, who was the first to be arrested, said the sum of N50,000 was sent to her account and she was asked to keep N40,000 for Queen, while she could spend the remaining N10,000.

She said Tunde promised to pay her if she assisted with the arrest of Queen.

“On May 13, Tunde came to De Dems club and he was searching for the said Chinaza and Chizoba. Fortunately, I came across him and I said this is my own name (among beneficiaries).

“Mr Tunde promised me that if I can help them to locate her that he would pay me, but he did not state the actual amount. On the same date, Mr Tunde carried me for ‘service’ from 1am to 5am and he paid me the sum of N12,000,” she stated.

Tunde, while reacting, said Queen saw his PIN when he was paying for their food at the bar.

He explained that she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in pretentious friendliness while spying as he punched his PIN for the payment.

He said he used the same code for his phone PIN and banking app password, which made it easier for the suspect to unlock.

The businessman expressed shock at the claim that he impregnated Queen twice, saying it was not true.

“I am very sick as I speak with you. I feel weaker with each passing day. I don’t know what she put in my drink. When you hear people fall and die suddenly, it could be because of things like this. I don’t smoke, drink or sleep outside. It was family frustration that pushed me out. And I have learnt my lesson. That girl was never my girlfriend; I met her that night and I did not even sleep with her,” he added.

According to Tunde, he gave Faith the N12,000 when she insisted on getting paid to assist in the arrest of the prime suspect.

He said the sex worker, whom he promised N50,000 for her help, was speaking with Queen until she suddenly backed out of the plan.

CREDIT: FROM THE PUNCH