Civil engineer falls victim of confidence trick

Civil engineer falls victim of confidence trick

A Katsina-based civil engineer was doing well until he fell for the temptation to relocate to Abuja, regarded as one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Fortune smiled on him when he bid for the construction of six-unit houses at one of the burgeoning estates around the city centre. The value of the contract ran into some millions of Naira and the estate owners did not waste any time in mobilising him for the project because they were satisfied with his pedigree.

The engineer, an indigene of Badagry in Lagos state, could not believe his luck. He then contacted his bosom friend, also from Badagry, who had been in the same line of business and was well familiar with the twists and turns of the construction environment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The friend rejoiced with him, saying that he was very fortunate to have landed the contract in a highly competitive environment like Abuja. He advised him to be very careful with the workers that would be engaged at the site because in his words: This is Abuja where the smartest of workers in Nigeria are found.

His friend then reeled out a litany of instances of how many contractors had been shortchanged by suppliers or (thieving) artisans who were in the habit of fiddling with building materials at sites. The engineer from Katsina was grateful to his friend for his words of advice, even though he was not unaware of the antics in the construction business.

Satisfied that he had won the confidence of his friend, the Abuja-based trickster suggested to his friend that he should let him handle the purchase of the cement needed for the project. He warned his friend that cement dealers in Abuja were smart guys whose stock-in-trade is to sell re-bagged products to unsuspecting customers and that he had reliable suppliers at his beck and call.

The civil engineer was convinced that he had found a great business ally in his townsman. So, when he was mobilised to the site, he put his buddy in charge of cement sourcing. Out of the N15m mobilization fee, he handed about N10m to his friend to procure cement and cement blocks. After a supply of a pick-up load of cement and a tipper-load of blocks, the friend disappeared into thin air with the balance.

The civil engineer did not quite sense danger until two or so days later when his friend did not show up at the site nor pick his calls. At first, he thought something terrible had happened to him. He made enquiries at his residence where he left his sound system alive and booming in the sitting room. That gave the impression that somebody was in the house. But repeated bangs on the door produced no response. The sounds from the system were an alibi for him to make a clean escape. The engineer promptly alerted the police, perhaps something nasty had happened to his friend … such as dying in his sleep.

The police came and broke down the door. They were greeted by an empty house, the friend had literally evaporated. The escapee made sure he did not leave anything behind which could be used to trace him. The engineer ended up at the police station where he made a statement. The next thing he did was to rush down to Badagry to inform his friend’s parents about what had transpired between the two of them and to know whether they knew anything about his whereabouts. Their response was in the negative. It was at that point that he began to develop high blood pressure.

Upon returning to Abuja, he informed the estate owners about the development, which they did not find funny. They told him it was his own funeral and that the project must not stop, otherwise, he would end up in jail. After exhausting the balance of N5m that he kept from the mobilisation fee, he went to Katsina and sold his house, a furniture company and other assets including his car to raise money to continue with the construction work. At the end of the day, he got stuck. With all his belongings sold, he relocated his family of five to Lokoja because he could not accommodate them in the single room where he was patching up with another friend in Abuja.

Life in Lokoja became unbearable for his family because he could not provide for their upkeep. Besides, the landlord of the flat he got for them kept harassing them, occasionally locking them out for failure to complete the rent as agreed upon. Meanwhile, the estate owners were putting pressure on the engineer and monitoring his lifestyle to see whether he was trying to outsmart them with the story of being conned by a friend. But when they saw the ordeal he was passing through as evidenced from his emaciation, bedraggled appearance and car-lessness, they had a rethink and pity on him. The contract has been re-awarded to another contractor.

In the meantime, the engineer has managed to relocate his family to one of the major towns located close to Abuja. And because he did not make a serious issue from the betrayal by getting the police to declare his friend wanted, he is hoping to catch him in his unguarded moment someday.