Computer village hoodlums explain how they sell ‘fufu’ phones and dupe customers.

By Linus Akomolafe

For you to be regarded as a true Lagosian, you must have experienced a few things few things. Either you board a bus taken past your bus stop because you refused to shout ‘Owa’ or you purchase a phone at Computer Village only to discover it was well packed ‘fufu’ in a dummy phone.

In an investigation by IkejaBird, two hoodlums revealed how they dupe buyers when selling phones.

One who identified himself as Emeka (not real name) revealed that they are usually in a group, spread across the street during the shady activity.

“As we are like this, I can just approach you with a phone then test the phone with your sim card and you will confirm
that the phone is working perfectly well. Then I will collect the money from you. But as I am talking to you I won’t be alone. My colleagues will hang around and watch us bargaining on the phone. They will monitor the time you gave me money and note the currency if it is N1000 or N500 notes.”

He continued, “after you test the phone and you love it, one of them will come and shake me and you, then I will try and do anything to distract you for that moment after distracting you, I will go ahead to tell you to hold on for the receipt while doing that I will give the money you gave me to the guy who shook your hand, while he gives me paper wrapped with one of the currency you gave me.”

He added that, “if I succeed in distracting you and switching the money, I will tell you I am no longer interested in selling the phone and if you ask why I would say the guy sitting there is the owner of the phone and he said he can’t sell it for that price. Immediately, I will tell you to give me my phone and take your money back. But before I give your money back, I will tell you that bros take this money and run because these boys you are seeing standing around are thieves. Just put the money in your pocket and leave. After putting fear in you, I will move and take another way and you won’t ever see me again.”

For buyers of fufu phones, Henry (not real name) revealed that victims of this method are people who come to the market to buy phones in a pack.

He said: “People that I sell fufu phones to are people that buy from me and request for cartons. If you come to my
shop and you want to buy a phone and package it inside a carton after testing, just know that you will have a fufu
phone. I have a dummy phone that does not press but it looks like a phone but it doesn’t use battery or anything. After you are done pricing, testing it and paying for it, I will switch it in a way that you won’t know and put it in the carton and package it for you.”

He added that the experience is daily for buyers who do not understand trading activities in the tech market because not everyone knows how the phone market works.

He stressed that those who fall victim are people who live in Lagos but decided to visit the market in fear of being duped.

“There are some people who live in Lagos but haven’t been to this market except once. And anytime they get here they will be afraid because of the knowledge they have of computer village. And this thing can’t stop no matter the security because it is a job here,” he added.

While revealing the hideouts of these hoodlums, he said: “There is a place where we hide when we do such a thing and you won’t find us from now till tomorrow when you come back. What is done there is we just smoke and drink and the police can’t enter there. We have a nickname for the place and some of us call it Idowulen. It is a street and it is inside this market,” he said.

Meanwhile, there have been indications that security operatives stationed in the area have been helping in the spread of the crime.

Recall that on March 16, some policemen were caught in a viral video involved in phone theft at Computer Village where traders chased them away.

However, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, denies this, claiming that police operatives in the area are not involved in the nefarious act.

Odumosu said the false allegation and attack on police operatives was the third of its kind in recent time in the same market.

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