Taiwo Ogunjobi (pseudonym), a resident of Lagos State, paid Abi Otedola’s Airjara Travel and Tours N1,728,000 for a Canadian work permit in March 2022 but he has neither received the permit nor a refund to date. Even worse, he has no clue about the travel agency’s whereabouts.

Ogunjobi told EQ he would never have parted with such an amount if Airjara Travel and Tours had been honest from the start. The company only informed him of their no-refund policy after he had made the required upfront payment.

He explained that when he visited Airjara Travel and Tours’ office in Victoria Island, after being intrigued by their offers in a social media advert, a representative told him it was company policy for prospective customers to pay part of the permit fee before receiving further information.

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Before his visit, Ogunjobi learnt that the travel agency charged $5,000 to help Nigerians secure a Canadian work permit. This fee was confirmed during his meeting with them. After leaving their office, he decided to make a partial payment.

“Airjara Travel and Tours sent me their account number after I requested it. They also promised to provide further information once they confirmed my payment. I paid N1,728,000 on March 1, 2022, which was the equivalent of $3,000 at the time,” Ogunjobi told EQ.

An email thread between the source and Airjara on his initial N1.7 million payment

After the payment, Ogunjobi said the agency began demanding N216,000 for value-added tax (VAT). He expressed his displeasure, as this had not been disclosed earlier. However, after some calls, the company agreed to reduce the amount to N150,000, which he paid on the same day.

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Ogunjobi said everything seemed fine until March 3, 2022, when the agency sent him a form to fill out.

“On the form, they stated that any payments made were non-refundable, regardless of the success or failure of the work permit application. I was shocked to see such a condition and immediately called them. I told them that if I had known about this earlier, I would have made a more informed decision,” he recalled.

Ogunjobi said he asked for a refund when the company insisted it was their policy but they assured him there was no need to worry because they had a high success rate with applications. He then filled out the form.

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“I began to follow up to track the progress of my application. They kept asking me to be patient until the end of 2022. By mid-2023, I wrote to them, threatening legal action if I didn’t receive my permit or a refund. They responded that I was free to go to court and didn’t need to wait for the deadline I had given them,” he said.

“They even boasted that their lawyers would be ready for me. However, towards the end of 2023, I noticed that all their lines were no longer connecting, and they stopped responding to emails. I discovered they had vacated the premises when I went to their office. Both the company and its owner have been unreachable since then.”

EQ contacted Airjara Travel and Tours via email on Tuesday, as their phone numbers were not connecting, but they had not responded at press time.
The post Abi Otedola’s Airjara Vanishes With N1.7m Lagos Man Paid for Canadian Work Permit 3 Years Ago appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.