In May, Olabode Oludare, an Oyo-based business analyst, stumbled on a Facebook post on Isaac Bolt Engine Technology’s page; it was a solar generator advertisement. This sounded like a good option amid Nigeria’s unstable power supply; however, it soon turned out to be one of his worst decisions ever.
Oludare told Conquest magazine that to pursue this dream, he was scammed to the tune of N752,000 by Isaac Eniola Okikioluwa, the owner of Isaac Bolt Engine Technology.
He said that when he first contacted Okikioluwa on WhatsApp, they agreed that he (Oludare) would trade in his old 1.7 Kilo-volt-amperes (KVA) solar generator in exchange for one of his products: a 4KVA solar generator.
However, it soon turned out that all the promises were false, as Okikioluwa only kept demanding money from Oludare without delivering the generator.
“On May 29, I reached out to Okikioluwa via WhatsApp after getting his contact from his Facebook page to purchase a new solar generator,” Oludare said.
“We reached an agreement that stated that I would exchange my old 1.7KVA solar generator worth over N200,000 with his 4KVA solar generator. This comprises two pieces of 200 Amp-hours (AH) batteries, a 4000Watts power engine and four pieces of 350Watts solar panels. Then I would add N650,000 to meet up with the value he claimed he was selling a 4KVA solar generator as of then.”
The solar generator Okikioluwa advertised and Olabode paid for.
Oludare said after this arrangement was met, he sent N500,000 to Okiki, and then another N100,000 for him to buy materials to build the generator, but soon, the promises to deliver a working solar generator became a litany of unending excuses.
“Two days after I sent N500,000 to him the first time, he requested another N100,000 to purchase all the materials he needed to build the generator, which I also sent to him.
“The agreement was that the generator would be ready by June 12, and then he’ll come to Oyo from Lagos for installation.
Proof of payments made to Okikioluwa at different points.
“On June 12, after a series of calls, he answered his phone, and we discussed the installation to be done the same day, and then he sent me a quotation worth N152,000. In the quotation, he listed cables, breakers, workmanship, and other things in the quotation.”
Oludare said Okikioluwa failed to show up on June 12 for the installation, claiming that he had issues with loading the generator in the vehicle. He said shortly afterwards, he became unreachable, and then it dawned on him that he’d been scammed.
Isaac Okikioluwa. Photo credit: Facebook.
“Okikioluwa became evasive and he said they were having issues loading the generator and all the other things I paid for into a car at a park, and that they would load it overnight and the installation would be scheduled for the next day, June 13.
“On the new date, there was no show. His phone was switched off throughout. He also stopped picking up calls or replying to messages on WhatsApp. The next day, he sent a lengthy voice message on WhatsApp with stories that didn’t align, ending it by saying they’ll come ‘sooner or later’ to install the solar generator that I already paid him N752,000 for.
“After waiting another week with no show, I decided to dig into him to know who I was dealing with and by searching out his Facebook page, I found many unhappy comments from people he had scammed recently too.”
Screengrabs from Facebook of clients Okikioluwa had scammed in 2022.
Screengrabs from Facebook of clients Okikioluwa had scammed in 2022.
In his digging, Oludare stumbled on a picture of Okikioluwa with his father, Pastor Ezekiel Okikioluwa Odunayo, Pastor-in-charge of the Redeemed Christain Church of God (RCCG), Kaduna Province 6.
He told this news platform that he contacted a number he found on his page but one Pastor Muyiwa answered the call. He said Pastor Muyiwa played middleman between him and Isaac’s father and assured him from messages forwarded to him that Okikioluwa would settle with him.
“Thanks, Pastor Muyiwa. I have told Isaac to settle with his client as quickly as possible. Mr Olabode should revert to Isaac directly,” the message sent to Oludare from Isaac’s father read.
“I never got direct access to his father as Pastor Muyiwa was from my understanding playing the role of a middleman,” he said.
“Surprisingly, I received a message from Isaac himself on June 29 that read, ‘What is coming first would be only the solar generator on Tuesday but rest assured you’ll get the panels by Friday/Saturday.’”
The Oyo resident said that despite this promise, Okikioluwa stopped answering his calls until the afternoon of the same day when he said he was at a courier service and was about to send the generator.
“I waited three days for the generator to arrive from the courier but it never did. On July 4, I got another message from him asking me to give him three weeks to fulfil his end of the bargain, but when the time elapsed, he stopped answering his calls altogether and ignored the messages I had sent to him.
“I am now at my wit’s end and do not know what to do anymore.”
When we contacted Okikioluwa on Tuesday afternoon for a response on why Oludare’s solar generator had not yet been delivered despite several unfulfilled promises, he told us that the generator would be delivered as everything to make it happen had been put in place
“I appreciate the time taken to reach out. The delivery will surely be held as all has been put in place. He would get a response surely. that’s for sure. I appreciate.”
When asked how long more Oludare should wait and if he plans to issue him a refund, he did not give a response to that.
We also sent a WhatsApp message to Pastor Muyiwa on Tuesday afternoon. In his response on Wednesday morning, he said he expected Isaac would have refunded Oludare’s N752,000.
“I chatted with Mr Olabode Oludare yesterday. I thought by now, Isaac should have paid the money back. Meanwhile, I have forwarded your message to the dad. And he has gotten in touch with Issac,” he said.
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