Lagos Hotel Manager Accused of Mobilising Thugs To Brutalise Customers, Extort N90,000 From Them
Prince Samuel Edem, one of the victims, narrated his ordeal to SaharaReporters, revealing how he and his friends were attacked at the Dmatel Hotel in Ikota, Lekki Phase Two.
A Lagos hotel manager has been accused of unleashing thugs on customers over a payment dispute, allegedly assaulting them and extorting an additional N90,000 after they had already settled their bills.
Prince Samuel Edem, one of the victims, narrated his ordeal to SaharaReporters, revealing how he and his friends were attacked at the Dmatel Hotel in Ikota, Lekki Phase Two.
“I actually don’t live in Lagos. I only came to Lagos and have been around for over a month, staying in different hotels. I told my friends I didn’t want to stay in one place, so they brought me to Dmatel Hotel,” Edem recounted.
According to him, they checked into the hotel on March 19 and paid N45,000 per night for four days. However, by Friday, their sponsor, who was staying at a different hotel, had financial difficulties and asked them to negotiate with the hotel management for extra time to clear the bills.
“He told us he had challenges with money that Friday, that his girlfriend was sick and needed treatment. He asked us to talk to the management, saying they would allow us to stay since he lodged there often. We spoke to them, and they agreed,” he said.
By Saturday, the hotel manager insisted they could not stay another night without payment. Edem and his friends agreed to check out by Sunday morning.
“When it was Sunday morning, he knocked on our door and told us we had to check out so he could sell the room. We agreed and asked what would happen to our unpaid bill for the two nights. He said he would hold our properties until we returned with the money,” Edem explained.
“We showed him our Rolex watch worth three million naira as proof that we would return. He agreed, so we left.”
On Monday morning, the hotel manager called to remind them about the N90,000 balance. By Wednesday, they secured the money and returned to pay.
“When we got there, we asked the cashier how much we owed, and she confirmed it was N90,000. My friend transferred the money, and we asked for our belongings. She then told us to wait because the management had just texted her to hold on.”
According to Edem, the manager later demanded an extra N225,000, claiming their belongings had remained in the room.
“I told him that made no sense. He was the one who insisted we check out, so why claim we owed for extra days? He then said we should at least pay for one more night,” he said.
That was when the situation turned violent.
“He called one guy, a thug, who said we wouldn’t leave the premises. Then, they brought in more thugs from the street. They started punching us, calling us thieves.
“Five men beat me alone. Blood was running from my nose. They threatened to kill us if we didn’t pay.”
Fearing for their lives, one of Edem’s friends rushed to Zenith Bank and withdrew another N90,000 in cash.
“That’s how they collected another N90,000 from us. After we had already paid them N90,000 through transfer, we had to pay another N90,000 in cash before they let us go,” he said.
He confirmed that four of them were assaulted, with two, including himself, sustaining serious injuries.
When SaharaReporters contacted the hotel manager on Wednesday morning, he answered the call but refused to speak.
He subsequently ignored follow-up calls and a message requesting his response to the allegations.
