As the owner of a start-up, one of the most compelling statements Babagana Abba Dalori used to attract potential investors was that he started his transportation business with just one tricycle.
Inspired and impressed by the profitable investment picture the Borno State-born entrepreneur painted, interested investors keyed into what they thought could rescue them from penury.
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Incorporated in 2012, Dalori’s company, Galaxy Transportation and Construction Services Ltd. soon gained prominence in Abuja and its environ, promising investors an attractive return on investment (ROI).
Dalori took things notches up by venturing into other businesses and coming up with subsidiaries like Galaxy Global Energy Concept Ltd., Galaxy Miners Concept Ltd., Galaxy Global Farms, Galaxy Computers, Galaxy Block Making Factory, Galaxy Hospital and Galaxy Hotel.
INVESTMENT GONE WRONG
In 2018, crisis began when the company could no longer pay investors their returns. After a long wait, a large number of investors petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). By the turn of 2019, the EFCC had received over 146 petitions, and in April of the same year, the commission decided to arrest Dalori.
In the course of its investigation, the anti-graft agency discovered that Dalori had diverted close to N7 billion of investors’ money to forex trading. Part of the money had also gone into acquiring personal property and establishments.
The EFCC stated that the forex trade Dalori ventured into ended in a devastating loss.
AN INVESTOR WHO GOT ROI FOR FOUR MONTHS
“The company had a wide range of tenures. You could do for a month and you could do for a year. It all depends on your choice. I started with N90,000 in 2018 and got paid 12 percent returns for four months,” said an investor who asked not to be named.
“In the same year, I decided to increase my capital by investing N2.1 million. Unfortunately, the period I increased my capital coincided with the time the company stopped paying investors.”
AN INVESTOR WHO WANTS HIS MONEY BACK
“Close to 3,000 investors have lost money to this scam. I am aware the EFCC arrested and prosecuted him in 2019, but that is not enough for me. All I want is the one million Naira I invested back.
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“There were also rumours that the company was now being run by one of Dalori’s relatives and that the company had secretly started paying investors who threatened to take further legal action against it. However, I don’t know how true that is. All I am interested in is getting my money back,” said another investor.
DALORI’S WHEREABOUTS
After his arrest in April 2019, Dalori was first arraigned in an Abuja high court in June of the same year. On September 9, 2019, his application for bail was denied by Muawiyah Idris, the presiding judge.
Idris also ordered the detention of Dalori for two additional months, a period the judge believed would allow the commission carry out an intensive investigation on all the allegations brought against the businessman.
However, that was the last time the case was made public.
FIJ made several calls to Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesperson, on the matter but they were unanswered. A text message sent to him was also not responded to.
The phone numbers on Galaxy Transportation’s website were not accessible, and messages sent to them were not responded to.
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