Chukwunonso Simeon, an Abuja resident, has reported to FIJ how Gerald Udechukwu, a policeman in the IGP Task Force on Petroleum, sold a Toyota Hilux vehicle to him on February 4, but failed to refund his money after he discovered the car had no Vehicle Inspection Number (VIN).
Simeon was a middleman, helping to procure the vehicle for a client who needed it for an event in the southeast.
He said he checked for options on Jiji Nigeria and found a 2008 model of the vehicle. A man who identified himself as Peter posted the item for sale.
On February 3, Simeon visited the address Peter sent him. His purpose was to inspect the used vehicle he wanted to pay for.
“When I got to the estate where the vehicle was located, I inspected, and then Gerald Udechukwu, who identified himself as a senior police officer, showed me his ID card and said I should make payment so he could bring the vehicle documents and customs duty,” he told FIJ.
“I made the transfer of N10,500,000 to him, believing that since he was a senior officer, I could trust him. He brought the documents and sales agreement, and we both signed. Then he told me the customs duty was in Asaba, Delta State. We agreed he would send it to me when he received it.”
Simeon explained that when he took the vehicle to his client that same day, the client found that the vehicle did not have an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). Following this discovery, he called Peter to say he would be returning the vehicle.
However, while driving to Udechukwu’s residence the next day, policemen stopped him for a routine search.
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“They requested the car documents, which I gave them,” Simeon said.
“After checking it and inspecting the vehicle, they told me that the chassis number on the document could not be verified because the number on the vehicle had been removed, and in most cases, the vehicles are stolen.”
When he heard this, he explained his situation to the policemen and said he was driving to return the vehicle to the policeman he bought it from.
The policemen let him go, but Simeon’s mission failed as Udechukwu stopped taking his calls and responding to his messages. He kept insisting the deal was done.
I DID NOTHING WRONG — UDECHUKWU
In a text to Udechukwu on February 7, FIJ explained that Simeon was entitled to a refund per Section 130 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (2018).
This law provides that a consumer has a right to timely performance and completion of services provided by a vendor, and where this fails, a right to a reasonable refund of the price paid having regard to the extent of the failure.
Udechukwu disagreed. He said, “I am a policeman and I know the law. The client had inspected the vehicle before taking it away, so he had the opportunity to check for all flaws before taking it away.”
Via WhatsApp, he said he was open to a lawsuit if Simeon wanted to take up the matter legally. During the conversation, he insisted the vehicle had all the necessary documents.
“According to the FCCPA’s Section 122 (b), where consumers don’t have the opportunity to examine the goods… and goods aren’t as described, then he can talk of the above claim,” Udechukwu told FIJ.
“He was on the ground and inspected the said goods (vehicle) for two days; Monday, February 3, and returned on Tuesday, February 4; this time with a mechanic, checked again and said the car was perfect, paid and he left. He then returned yesterday after 48 hours to say he wanted to return the car. I mean, how do you even know what has gone wrong? 48 hours is enough.”
When Udechukwu insisted the vehicle had all the required documents, Simeon sent the VIN to a contact of his in the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO). This contact returned the same feedback the policemen on the road told him. The VIN was not in their official records.
Feedback from VIO
MORE CONTROVERSY
Simeon told FIJ Udechukwu claimed he bought the vehicle from the USA, but when he was inspecting the vehicle, he saw a worn-out Lagos number plate with number KTU192XH.
Original number plate on vehicle
Meanwhile, while Simeon was inspecting the vehicle, Udechukwu removed the Lagos number plate and screwed on a new Kano plate.
“He removed it and told me that he was about to send the vehicle to Kano to work in his quarry where they break stones, but because his younger brother needed money for his sick wife that was why he just wanted to sell and settle him,” he explained to FIJ.
New Kano number plate records Udechukwu handed to Simeon
When FIJ asked if Simeon saw Udechukwu screw on new plates, he said, “Yes sir, I was the one that gave him a screwdriver from my car.”
This new number plate read: NSR-188ZL. Things did not stop here. Simeon also spotted a third number engraved on the glasses of the vehicle. This one was: GCI38EKY Lagos.
On February 12, Simeon wrote to the Force Public Relations Office in Abuja to investigate the matter.
Petition to police to investigate Udechukwu
FIJ called the FPRO’s office on multiple occasions in February, and while they said they were investigating the matter, Simeon still has not received his money.
The post Policeman Gerald Udechukwu Refuses to Refund N10.5m to Abuja Car Buyer Who Found No VIN or ABS in Hilux appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.