Man Who Sold Land And Moved Abroad With ₦‎18 Million Discovers He Was Scammed

The man spoke in a video posted by the BBC African Eye, noting that part of the money he used to travel belonged to his parents

He said he spent N18 million only to arrive in the UK and there was no job for him as the agent lied to him before he left Nigeria

A man who relocated abroad has shared how immigration agents scammed him out of millions of naira.

The man had moved to the UK carrying the hopes and aspirations of his family members, but his desire to make has been frustrated.

The man said part of the money he used to travel abroad was given to him by his parents. 

The man’s story was shared as part of the broader immigration scam investigation conducted by the BBC.

Man scammed of N18 million cries out

According to the man identified as Harry, he resigned from his job before relocating to the UK.

He sold his properties, including cars, so that he could make up the money he used to move abroad.

He noted that he equally borrowed money from his parents who managed to gather some funds from their farming activities.

Also, part of the money he used to fund his journey to the UK was loans collected from family and friends.

The problem started when Harry got to the UK and found no job as promised by the immigration agent he hired.

Harry, who spoke to the BBC without revealing his face, said the church has become the only place he finds solace.

He said:

“The church is the only place I find solace. Oh God! I spent close to N17 to N18 million and there is no job. So that is the situation I found myself in right now. I’m still here, still stuck in my cage. You can’t go back. Where are you going to go back to when you don’t even have anything to your name?”

Harry said the scammers keep getting richer while the victims languish in pain.

His words:

“I sold land and properties. I sold cars. I resigned from my job, a well-paying job, collecting loans from family and friends. The people you are still owing, what do you go to tell them when you get back home? You tell them you are sorry, you came back there is no money. Who would listen to that? The scammers keep getting rich, using people’s sweat. People that have laboured.”

The man says he sold properties and borrowed money to move to the UK only to discover he was scammed. 

According to Harry, he cannot go back because he has not made money and he has failed to send money to his parents.

He said he is still owing people who borrowed him money to use and come to the UK only to be failed by the person who promised him a job.

He told the BBC:

“My parents are old, they sold from their farms. They collected a little money they sold from their farms. Little little money. They gathered the money, the emptied their account for you. I foolishly trusted that person that did my sponsorship for me. I calculated the money. You know? I did the mathematics, when we have something, we would have gotten the land back. Don’t worry, give me six months, I was going to do a good job. Oh God! A penny, I haven’t sent to my mum.”