By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Molly Kilete, Abuja
“I was given a month’s notice because the landlord claimed that I violated his tenancy terms, and I was in dire need of a one-bedroom apartment at that point. An agent helped to secure a one-bedroom apartment in Karu for N200,000 per annum, which he claimed was the lowest. The following day, I made the payment and informed the landlord that I would be moving in a week. I was taken aback when, three days later, he asked me to come for a refund on the grounds that he had given the apartment out to someone who paid N300,000 each for two years. When I complained to the agent that linked us up, he could only apologize,” Ibrahim Adakole said.
Stories like Adakole, a civil servant, narrated are now commonplace among residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
They are dissatisfied with the high rent because landlords have persisted in the hike despite the difficult economic situation in the country.
But on Tuesday, June 22, 2022, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) issued a warning that landlords risk 15 years in jail for letting houses out to Internet scammers and advance-fee fraudsters, also known as ‘Yahoo boys.’
Welcoming the development, a landlord in Karu, Abuja, who did not want his name in print, while responding to how this would be enforced, said it would help bring sanity to what he called the “Yahoo boys menace.”
Recalling the good old days as a tenant, he said: “I recall wanting to rent a self-contained apartment in Kubwa in 2007. The estate agent hired was Diya Fatimilehin. They investigated me at work, including my guarantors. I was in the office when they came in to confirm that I worked there. They came to my guarantors’ offices the same day. I also heard they gave these findings to the police, which were well documented.
“It doesn’t stop there; they pay unannounced visits to the property on a regular basis to see what’s going on. It is unfortunate that we now have hungry estate agents who are too lazy to do the proper work. It’s all about commissions for them.
“Some three years ago, I personally interviewed a prospective tenant. I wasn’t comfortable with his answers and that was how I lost out. We need to be very careful who we call tenants or neighbours.”
Meanwhile, the majority of residents, particularly those who can afford it, have started building their own homes to escape landlords who, despite not maintaining the houses, will at the slightest delay in renewing the rent tear off the roofing sheets or take them to court, in a bid to frustrate them out.
When a gang of renters known as “Yahoo boys” started to increase the amount to pay for housing, the situation changed drastically.
It dis not matter how long one had been in a house, any delay in renewing your rent could see one losing the accommodation to a new tenant who was willing to double or triple the rent, to the landlord’s delight.
A one-room, self-contained apartment on the outskirts of the FCT, which, before the Federal Government enforced the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, cost between N40,000 and N60,000, according to some tenants who spoke with Daily Sun, is now rented at N150,000 and N200,000.
Similarly, a single room in a building with a shared kitchen and bathroom was going for between N36,000 a year and now goes for N30,000 per month.
A one-bedroom apartment previously cost between N700,000 and N800,000 in Maitama, Ashmore, Garki, Wuse 2, and other affluent neighborhoods, while the same apartment in Kubwa, Karu, Nyanya, Gwarinpa, Mararaba, and Kurudu cost between N300,000 and N400,000, depending on the location and finishing.
With the right amount, landlords are accused of shunning background checks and due diligence on their prospective renters. Some of the Yahoo boys who have gone afoul of the law claimed to be engaged in forex trading, real estate purchasing and selling, which allowed them to pay excessive rent in affluent neighborhoods, including those controlled by the military, ostensibly to avoid prying eyes.
Residents of several estates and neighborhoods who were victims of these Shylock landlords told Daily Sun about some of their experiences, and some landlords explained why they preferred the so-called “yahoo boy” over actual civil officials.
Victor Ogbonna, who resides in Jikwoyi, recounted how he was forcefully evicted recently from his house because of frequent disagreements with his landlord. Efforts to secure another accommodation through two agents hit a brick wall as he was pointedly told to either match what the Yahoo boys were paying, if not higher, as no landlord was ready to forgo mouthwatering offers from the Yahoo boys, especially true in choice areas.
Mrs. Akintomide, a civil servant, recounted: “My husband was looking for a two-bedroom apartment at an affordable price. The landlord is no stranger to us and we concluded that the apartment would be given to us at N300,000 per annum, with a promise to pay at the end of that month. But to our shock and disappointment, he sent a message to my husband to look for another house because the one we agreed on earlier had been paid for.
“Our findings later revealed he gave it to a Yahoo boy for N400,000 per annum. When my husband confronted him, he pleaded for understanding and promised to get another apartment for us, but he never did”.
Idris Olayinka, a landlord in New Nyanya, blamed the development on lack of cordial relationship between tenants with the landlords, especially those that fail to pay their rent when due.
He said: “Since I retired 14 years ago as a federal worker, I have been sustaining myself with the money I get from my tenants. It will be impossible for me to allow any tenant who is not forthcoming with his/her rent to continue to live in my house because that is what I depend on for survival.”
Asked if he knew what his tenants did for living, he said: “Part of the information they provided before I agreed to give out my house is their means of livelihood. I have five tenants. Three of them are businessmen, one is an accountant and the other is an education consultant. They are all doing well in terms of house payment and I am happy.”
Olayinka said he doesn’t give out his house to civil servants. He explained: “I don’t want civil servants as tenants. My past experience with them regarding rent payment was not palatable. This is the money I depend on to feed. I can’t be paid in tranches. It is better I give my house to those who can pay on time, regardless of where and how they get the money,” he said.
Another landlord in Lugbe Federal Housing, an FCT suburb, Dada Adegoke, when asked if landlords truly preferred Yahoo boys as tenants, said: “Are car dealers not selling cars to Yahoo boys? Are traders not selling goods to them? Are they not buying foodstuff in the market? What is wrong if landlords prefer Yahoo boys as tenants?
“Will you give your apartment to someone who is ready to pay N100,000 or to another who wants to pay N300,000 per annum? Getting conducive apartments with all facilities now goes for the highest bidder. The only thing I asked was what my tenants did for a living and none of them had told me that he/she is a fraudster.
“The forms they filled are there as evidence. What will I do if a tenant tells me that he is a businessman and I don’t have enough proof to label him as an Internet fraudster? All I am after is that my tenants should pay their rent and other necessary dues on time.”
Another landlady, who did not want her name in print, explained that landlords preferred Yahoo boys as tenants because they could double any amount a salary earner was ready to pay as rent, but warned of the dangers.
According to her: “A house beside mine comprises two flats of three bedrooms each. The landlord does not live in the same compound. Unknown to us, the two flats were occupied by Yahoo boys, until they were arrested by SARS while they were doing their thing. The SARS men came in the morning, shot into the air and arrested the boys, who were five in number, with fetish objects. It was God who saved some of us from being hit by stray bullets.
“Before their arrest, landlords in the area had been complaining of daily sacrifices placed at strategic areas in the community. It now became a thing of concern that one would see sacrifices at T-junctions in the area. But since they’ve been arrested, the environment is now peaceful. However, the owner of the building denied knowledge of the boy’s atrocities when invited for questioning by SARS operatives.”
One of the agents in City College of Education, Karu, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that 90 per cent of landlords preferred Yahoo boys because of the economic situation of the country.
His words; “Most landlords are retirees with little or no pension. They wuld rather give their houses to those who can pay triple. A three-bedroom flat pegged at N300,000 per annum was eventually rented by two yahoo boys at the rate of N1.2 million per annum. Imagine the difference. To be sincere with you, if I am ready to rent my house out, I will prefer to have Yahoo boys as tenant. Government’s economic policies are not friendly and are pushing one to the limit. Some landlords who want to rent their houses out specifically told me that they want Yahoo boys as tenants because they can pay higher.
“There is no morality in this. Even landlords who are clerics will give their houses to the highest bidder. Some of these Yahoo boys came from good Christian homes. Some have Islamic clerics as parents. We all contributed to this problem. A well-respected educationist in my area wanted to sell a plot of land and contacted me to help him look for any Yahoo boy because he needed someone who could pay well.
“I was surprised at his insistence on selling to Yahoo boys because, as an educationist and a respected father, he should not have thought of selling his land to Internet fraudsters that the society is condemning.”
Residents complain
Some tenants told Daily Sun that they were left with no choice but to report the matter to the FCT authorities but unfortunately they did not get a positive response because of the non availability of a tribunal or Task Force to checkmate the menace.
The residents in some estates visited by Daily Sun appealed to government to come to their rescue. According to them, aside from the high cost of rent, the Yahoo boys are a bad influence on young children.
“It’s easy to identify them because they usually live in groups of five or ten in one or two bedroom flats. Another way to identify them is when they hit a jackpot. They are known to fight, maybe over sharing formulae, women, throw loud and wild parties, run their generators till dawn, despite the fuel scarcity. Some residents are afraid to confront them because it might turn deadly.
“The activities of these Yahoo boys is becoming a menace because apart from their specialty in Internet fraud, they also engage in drugs and substance abuse and luring innocent children into their illicit activities.
“They have made some strategic spots in the estates where they reside like the shopping malls, play ground and sporting areas as their meeting points and some of us who are parents are scared for our little children”, one resident who pleaded for anonymity said.
The yahoo boys were not so lucky in one of the military estates in the FCT, as the authorities overseeing the estate carried out a raid on them and sent them packing in large numbers.
When contacted the FCT Police Command said its unit in charge of cyber crime has been carrying out raids on suspected Internet fraud hideouts and called on the public with useful information on their whereabouts to report to the police.
The Police also said that they were not aware that military estates were now a safe haven for them and promised to investigate and write to the military on the matter.
Acting spokesman of the Command ASP Oduniyi Omotayo, however, said: “I might not be able to comment because we have not received any report of rise of criminality due to their influx. “But, if there be any reason for fear or insecurity because of their movement, we are ready to swing into action and do the needful.”