A travel agent, Mr Lukman Abdulkareem, on Friday told an Ikeja High Court how another travel agent, Sharafadeen Irorun, allegedly defrauded him of seven million Naira meant for the Hajj pilgrimage.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abdulkareem is among those that Irorun allegedly defrauded to the tune of N24.6 million.
While being led in evidence by the state counsel, Mr Olawale Ijabike, Abdulkareem testified that he had been in partnership with the Nigeria Armed Forces at Bonny Camp, Ikoyi, Lagos, as a Hajj travel agent for 20 years.
The witness said he came in contact with the defendant sometime in 2014 during the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.
He said: “I use to give the armed forces numbers of pilgrim clients.
“In 2014, the Saudi Arabian Authority did not allow too many people to Mecca due to the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.
“I had to refund some of my clients but two of my clients insisted I must look for slots for them which made me get in contact with the defendant.”
The witness said that one Alhaji Mukaila Salau introduced him to the defendant and gave him the defendant’s telephone number.
“He said he had already spoken with Salau, when I called him on the phone, and he told me to make payment for the two slots if I really needed it.
“The defendant told me he had four forms with him and that his mother and wife would use two and that the remaining two forms were still available for my clients to use, as those who wanted to use it earlier changed their minds,” he said.
The witness further told the court that he transferred the sum of N1.5 million to the defendants for the purchase of the forms. (Guardian)