TELE-CORRUPTION GIANTS: HOW 9MOBILE FORGED DOCUMENTS TO ILLEGALLY TRANSFER PROPERTY BELONGING TO A DEAD MAN

Secret Reporters

Network providers are now called telecommunication giants because the Nigeria people massively patronize them thus enriching them beyond their wildest imagination. However, these so-called telecommunication giants have now decided to bite the very fingers of the Nigerian populace that so generously fed them by forcefully acquiring their lands to erect their mobile towers (mast), in most cases refusing to pay rents to their host, inability to clean up waste generated by their equipment and little or no corporate social responsibility.

Prominent in this menace is Etisalat Nigeria (Now 9mobile Nigeria), a once-thriving telecommunication company based in Nigeria which has become a thorn in the flesh of landlords and host communities, with a knack for constantly trampling on the rights of individuals whose properties are leased to them. This corrupt network provider in order to erect their mast has now resorted to forging documents possibly in an attempt to evade payment of rent to their host.

Hard evidence made available to SecretReporters reveal that Etisalat (9mobile) leased a land from Mr. Sunday Oladapo Adeleye at No. 4 Ora-Ekpen Crescent, Gbagada, Lagos State on the 22nd of June, 2008 with a special clause in the agreement stating that no part of the property should be leased or transferred to another party without the written consent and signature of the landlord (Mr Sunday).

However, after about three years of Etisalat`s operation on the land, our source further revealed that Mr Sunday became very sick, this immediately activated the fraudulent nature embedded in the DNA of the venal network provider who without blinking an eye breached all the agreements made with the landlord. They stopped paying rent for the land and refused to maintain the premises or clean up oil spillage on the land. This prompted the landlord to write a letter to Etisalat in January 2014 informing them of the state of the premises and the increasing menace of cobblers (Aboki) sleeping in the facility. This, however, fell on deaf ears as Etisalat was totally unconcerned about the plight of its host.

In what looks like a display of impunity, after learning of the demise of the landlord as a result of his ailment, Etisalat Nigeria immediately transferred the land to another company called IHS Nigeria Limited, forging a transfer document to deceive IHS that the landlord gave his consent for the transfer of the property before his death. In a bid to mask their path, SecretReporters learnt that the callous network providers used a thumbprint to falsify the signature of the landlord in the forged document as the couldn’t access the deceased landlord’s signature, an action which was a clear display of their desperation as the landlord’s children confirmed that he always signed every document having acquired little education.

More documents revealed that Etisalat who could not find a witness to back their illegal actions resorted to using the landlord’s grandchild, a minor (as against contract law) who was 14years old then as a witness, knowing fully that the chap was unaware of the whole charade.

According to our source, when the children of the landlord confronted Etisalat, they were alleged to have challenged the children to a legal duel and called them bluff boasting that with their wealth, connections, corporate image and influence they can close the case in a twinkle of an eye stating that the family does not have the capacity to confront them.

When the operators of IHS Nigeria Limited who are now the new occupants of the property were confronted, they agreed to pay all outstanding debts they owe the family in rent and other charges howbeit Etisalat who pride themselves as the “Lord of the Ring” boasting that they have the powers that be on their payroll, ordered IHS to halt all payment arrangement to the family as the family do not have the resources or capacity to take on them in court.

Worthy of note is the fact that it is alleged that Etisalat Nigeria had a knack for forcefully acquiring lands from landlords and refusing to pay rent or maintain the premises and in most cases leaving the duty of security of the facility to cobblers who on the long run appears to become security threats to the landlord and residents in the area.

Calls sent to the mobile number of the 9mobile agent in charge of the case Mr Aloh were not picked nor did he respond to text messages sent to his line as at the time of this report.