FIJ
Debo Thomas, an Ibadan-based businessman, has accused Peter Rufai, a former Nigerian goalkeeper, of refusing to refund his N1 million for over two years after failing to deliver a sports complex template.
Thomas, who also alleged that Rufai used his influence within the police to avoid refunding the money, told FIJ that he had “left the matter for God to judge” because Rufai remained hellbent on keeping his money.
The businessman said he met Rufai in October 2021 at his office in Festac after a friend introduced him to the popular ex-goalkeeper upon learning of his plan to build a sports complex, but this meeting would turn out bad.
Thomas said that Rufai expressed enthusiasm for the project when he shared the idea with him and assured him not to worry because he had templates for a similar project and would give them to him. He added that Rufai boasted of helping Belgium build a sports city and attempted a similar project in Lagos but failed because of legislation.
Thomas refused to accept a template without a fee because he thought that Rufai must have spent some money creating it, but Rufai rejected the monetary offer and said he would get back to Thomas. That same day, Rufai called Thomas and informed him he would like to meet with him the following Monday, which he agreed to. But despite arriving at 2 p.m., Rufai did not show up until 4 p.m.
“When he arrived, he blamed his delay on the traffic he claimed to have encountered coming from the Republic of Benin. But even if there was gridlock, he did not take our calls. My team and I met him by the roadside when we were already taking our leave,” Thomas told FIJ.
Thomas said he asked Rufai the second time what he wanted him to pay for the template, but he said he wasn’t in it for the money but for a legacy. But as Thomas and his team were to take their leave, Rufai gave him a UBA account number and asked him to pay for the template into the account based on his discretion.
PROBLEMS AFTER PAYMENT
The following day, Thomas said, he sent a million naira to Rufai, who expressed his disappointment upon seeing the funds he had transferred.
“When I called him to acknowledge the payment, he said he was expecting more than a million naira. He then asked me to add N3.5 million,” said Thomas.
According to Thomas, Rufai would not answer why he failed to demand a specific amount of money during their meeting but instead argued that he spent more than a million on the template.
“All I saw was inconsistency. I wanted Rufai to share an executive summary of his plan since we had shown commitment by paying a million naira without seeing anything, but he never did.”
At first, Rufai assured him he would forward the documents for the template, but later asked him to be patient because he wanted to fine-tune it.
Four weeks later, Rufai did not tell him the status of the adjustments. Thomas said he had to call Rufai to find out why he had not heard from him, but Rufai told him to pay between N8 million and N10 million for him to release the template. A frustrated Thomas then asked Rufai to send his N1 million.
“But he did not want to pay back the money. He brought in a lawyer to structure the terms of payment with my lawyer. However, when the lawyer heard of how the matter began, he couldn’t function normally,” Thomas recalled.
When the lawyer failed to effect a change, Thomas and his team met with Rufai to discuss the payment terms.
“We told him we’d have to sign the memorandum of understanding between his and our companies before we gave him anything else, including the executive summary. He said he would get it ready by January 2022,” Thomas stated.
“But in January 2022, Rufai did not get it ready. Instead, he began to request more money despite presenting no plan. At that point, I was angry. I told him I wanted no trouble with him. And I didn’t expect him to be dubious. I forwarded him my account number and asked for a refund, but he would not refund my money.
“I began to search the internet about Peter Rufai during this time and found links from online newspapers connecting him with a fraudulent deal in Belgium. I forwarded it to him, telling him to refund him because he would not want to add to his already tarnished media image, but he failed to show concern.”
RUFAI INTIMIDATES THOMAS WITH THE POLICE
Thomas said in March 2022, his lawyer said there was a petition from the Lagos Police at Onikan to produce him. His lawyer went to the police to ask what the matter was, but they wouldn’t tell him. Thomas then wrote a counter-petition to a higher office, Alagbon, but the police took no action.
He said his lawyer took the matter to the Ogba Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for them to get justice, but despite the judge’s order, Rufai still did not pay him.
“As I walked out of the court after a session in which I appeared as a witness in June, two guys blocked me and told me I was under arrest. Immediately after I saw them, I saw Peter Rufai pointing his fingers towards me,” Thomas said.
“I wasn’t sure who they were, but they threatened to shoot me, and then they drove me to a police station in Onikan. They would not listen to my side of the story but accused me of sending assassins to Rufai, burning his car, and threatening his life.
“I said Rufai cooked this up to distract from the facts, and no one was going to look at the substance of the matter. Before I knew it, they were harassing me. They didn’t let me have my phone to call people until later in the evening. The officer said he knew the substance of the matter, but I had to pay him some money for them to grant me bail and later settle with Rufai.”
Thomas told FIJ that the police released him the following morning but would not let him go immediately. That was where he learned Rufai was a friend of a senior official in that command.
“The police called Rufai and me, saying they wanted us to settle, but I told them it was already in court. They said it was a civil matter. They wanted to take me to court, knowing Lagos is not my territory, and it might be difficult to meet bail terms.
“One officer said what was happening was not right. They let me go that day, although I paid some money. I left, and they told me to come back another day. The day I went back, Rufai didn’t show up. The police officers said Rufai was not showing up, and I could go. I wrote an undertaking before I left.
“The car he accused me of burning has not been the subject of an investigation by the police. There was no investigation into the alleged assassination attempt. As evidence, he only presented a screenshot of the chat in which I stated he had a history of fraud. He said I was defaming him.
“Since the police stopped calling me, we have focused on the case in court. The court judgement asked Rufai to refund my N1 million. I thought Rufai would reach out, but he didn’t. My lawyer said we should make another abdication to enforce the judgement, but I wasn’t ready for any problem.”
RUFAI’S RESPONSE
The first time FIJ called Rufai was in December 2022. At the time, he refrained from speaking, claiming the matter was still in court, but based on documents obtained by FIJ, the court has since ordered Rufai to pay Thomas a million naira.
FIJ called Rufai for the second time on Tuesday, but he claimed he had no client based in Ibadan. He also accused this reporter of having insufficient knowledge of what they called him for.
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN FIJ
