How Scammer Used Bickley Park Hotel To Swindle Lady Of ₦1.4m Hotel Bill 

MICHAEL AKINOLA 

A 30-year old lady, identified as Chioma, has cried out over an alleged organized  scam involving one Mr. Umeh Emmanuelle, a.k.a Henry King, after she was arrested and forced to pay ₦1.4m debt incurred by the scammer at Bickley Park Hotel, Lekki area of Lagos State. 

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the victim, Chioma, was arrested by the Police at Maroko Division to pay the said sum of money after the scammer, Henry King, lodged her in the hotel and made payments for both lodging and drinks. But the hotel management later claimed that he paid the bills with fake bank alert and that Chioma should pay the bills or be prosecuted.

The embattled Chioma narrated that she was contacted online by Umeh Emmanuelle, who invited her to a birthday celebration but she declined the invitation. He then suggested that she should wait for him at a hotel he claimed to have already booked for the after-party. The victim, Chioma, said she went to Bickley Park Hotel, where she checked in after submitting her identification details as required. She said that the man maintained communication with her and later asked her to assist in receiving drinks he claimed to have ordered for the event.

Chioma explained that while she listened, Umeh placed a call to the hotel bar and ordered several drinks. Shortly afterward, she received what appeared to be a payment confirmation via WhatsApp, indicating that ₦1.2 million had been transferred to the hotel’s account. She also claimed that a hotel staff confirmed receipt of the payment when she enquired.

The drinks were later delivered and packaged, and Chioma said she was instructed by Umeh to hand them over to a dispatch rider waiting outside the hotel. Before doing so, she stated that both hotel staff and security personnel reassured her that the payment had been successfully processed.

However, the situation reportedly changed the following day when the hotel management informed her that the payment was fraudulent and did not actually reflect. She was then held responsible for the cost of the drinks and lodging in the hotel bringing the total sum to approximately ₦1.4 million.

The matter escalated when Chioma was  arrested and detained at Maroko Police station by the hotel management.

She alleged that the investigating officer, ASP Rasaki, a.k.a Rosco, told her that she was liable, should pay the bill or she will be prosecuted for a criminal conduct, despite what she described as an insufficient investigation.

She stated that the Police refused to carry out thorough investigation on the matter because the front desk officer who initially confirmed the payment has not been brought in for questioning to corroborate Chioma’s claims of receipt confirmation before the drinks were handed over to her.

The embittered Chioma alleged that the Maroko Police Station intimidated her and forced her into paying ₦700,000 directly into the Bickley Park Hotel account and to sign an undertaking to pay an additional ₦300,000 by a specified deadline.

Furthermore, she claims that the Maroko Police Division collected a ₦200,000 bail from her, despite being aware of her circumstances.

Chioma asserted that these actions point to a concerted conspiracy between the Maroko Police Division, Bickley Park Hotel and Umeh Emmanuelle, aimed at swindling her of her money.

She maintained that she was innocent and was subjected to undue pressure and manipulation, and is now seeking justice and redress for what she believed was a gross miscarriage of justice.

The man in question, Umeh, has blocked both Chioma and the hotel management after several calls were made to him. All the messages and payment confirmations he sent were also deleted, further raising doubts about the authenticity of the transaction.

Chioma insisted that she acted based on instructions and confirmations from both the individual and hotel staff. She claimed she is being unfairly pressured to pay for transactions she neither authorised nor benefitted from.

There are also confirmed reports that another woman may have experienced a similar situation at the same hotel, allegedly receiving a bill of over ₦200,000 under comparable circumstances.

It has come to light that Mr. Umeh Emmanuelle, also known as Henry King, may be operating a sophisticated syndicate specialising in defrauding vulnerable women, with a particular focus on leveraging his connections with hotels like Bickley Park Hotel Lekki to execute these illicit schemes.

This alleged modus operandi involves targeting unsuspecting women, gaining their trust, and manipulating them into situations where they are coerced into covering expenses or making payments that ultimately benefit the perpetrator, raising serious concerns about the security and trustworthiness of such establishments.

As at the time of this report, the Maroko Police authorities and Bickley Park Hotel management have not released an official statement regarding the allegations.