Dolapo Sonibare (not real name) has accused Stephen Orowole and Olawale Orowole, two cousins, of refusing to refund the £3,000 initial payment he made to them to process a certificate of sponsorship (COS) to extend his stay in the UK.
Sonibare told FIJ he left Nigeria for the UK on a study visa in December 2022 and was to stay until June 24, but things turned sour when he could not afford to complete his school fee payment.
He paid £6,000 of his £17,000 tuition, and when the school came calling for the £11,000 balance, he did not have it. This school (name redacted to protect Sonibare’s identity) withdrew him in August 2023.
Sonibare’s stay, which was supposed to expire in June 2024, was cut to April 2024. On realising this, he turned to his friend, Stephen.
“I have my family here,” Sonibare told FIJ. “When we came, my wife was pregnant with our second child; as such, the burden was overwhelming. So, instead of fulfilling tuition, I chose my family’s welfare.
“I called Stephen after the school withdrew me, and he told me about Zidaan Consultancy. He said Olawale worked with them, and if I paid a £3,000 initial payment, they would process the COS.
“After I transferred the money to Olawale on February 7 and 9, they told me my application would be flagged because I was owing the school, so they could not process it.
“I requested a refund, and they said they could only refund £1,000. They have both refused to communicate since February 8. Stephen only responds once in a while, while Olawale blocked me.”
FIJ called Stephen, and he confirmed Sonibare’s statements. Stephen, however, claimed the money was paid to Zidaan Consultancy and the company had begun processing before realising they could not go ahead.
“The company cannot refund everything,” Stephen told FIJ. “He was supposed to pay £6,000, but they collected £3,000 as an initial deposit so they could start the work. They can give him £1,000.”
After speaking with Stephen, FIJ called Zidaan Consultancy’s official number. We got no response, but after the newspaper sent a WhatsApp message to the UK number, someone responded.
The response read: “Zidaan is unavailable on medical leave right now, he’s been in hospital for weeks and I’m his mom. His assistant and employees have been taking care of things. Zidaan has not taken that fee, you would need to speak to your agent regarding that matter. Those are agent fees nothing to do with Zidaan.”
This claim contradicts Stephen’s earlier position on where the money went.
FIJ called Olawale, but he did not take calls. He also did not respond to text messages sent to him.
However, after FIJ’s attempts to reach him failed, he contacted Sonibare on Saturday to claim he only collected the money on Stephen’s behalf and did not keep or send it to Zidaan.
Subsequent calls and messages to Stephen have not been responded to.
FIJ
