This is one story only seen in Nollywood movies where friends scheme to take over each other’s property especially that of a deceased.The tale you are about to read is a true life story and the location is  Agege,a Lagos suburb.Aggrieved family members and friends of a deceased   businessman and Hausa youth leader in Agege Ibrahim Seriki El Liti Sabitu alleged that one Alhaji Sanni Al Hassan Gashimbaki was planning to sell the only building left behind by the deceased located on 12,Yekini Olagoke Street,Oniwaya,Agege.

Besides,it was also alleged that the 61 year old Gashimbarki was owing some members of staff(including the deceased) of his company SAMBAONA LTD  several millions of naira. But all these allegations were denied by the Kano State born business man.

A Yoruba adage says that no matter how long falsehood endures,truth will surely surface one day.A few days ago, the only surviving wife of the deceased Hajia Hasia Salisu called in from her Kebbi State base.She says that  Gashimbarki had asked her to support his decision to sell the house about seven months ago when they met.She explained that she told him not to sell the house because it is about the only property left behind as inheritance for the 11 children of her late husband out of which which she had four kids.Hear her ’’ I’m the second but the only surviving wife of my husband.I have four kids for him namely;Sanni(15),Rabbi(10),Balikis(12)and Mariam(8).At the moment two of them are living with Gashimbarki who is a distant relations of my husband and they are not being well taken care of as noticed when I visited them recently.’’

She says further’’ I visited Gashimbarki recently in Lagos and I saw that my kids were suffering rather than enjoying.I actually came to ask him for money but he said he had nothing to give me, instead asked me to support him so that he could sell my husband’s house;he said that’s the only way he could give me money but I told him that I don’t want him to sell the house and I left his residence in annoyance.Since my husband died five years ago Gashimbarki had only given me about N70,000(N20,000 in 2006 andN50,000 in 2007) even though he had been collecting rent from tenants in the building’’

In a bid to save his face,Gashimbarki initially claimed that some of the aggrieved persons were once his staff members,but turn back to say that they were actually his apprentices and that he was not obliged by any law to pay apparentices salary or any emolument,He says ‘’All these people are just telling lies.How on earth will they expect me to pay them salaries or gratuities when they are leaving the company?Let them back their claims with any agreement or document to show that they were actually my members of staff.’’

The story turned dramatic when in a swift reaction,some former members of his staff Abdulahi Takelit,Ayuba Isyaku, Ibrahim Saadu and Baba Sagamu countered Gashimbarki’s claims with minutes of some meetings held while they were still in the employ of Gashimbarki’s company and with some of their identity cards were their designations as managers was clearly stated.

One of them Abdulahi Takelit says ‘’Sanni Gashimbarki was lying .He never gave us salaries as senior members of staff in his company.He kept promising us that he would build houses for us but never for once fulfilled his promise.As one of his managers I have some priviledge information and documents in my care which I can use to disprove him.He claimed that we are not his staff but apprentices but how come our identity cards says that we are managers ?;at least you too can see that for yourself.’’

Takelit who personally flew in from Kano to Lagos because of the matter says further ’’ Going by our contributions to the company the following are our entitlements which Gashimbarki has refused to pay us:Abdulahi Nakelly(N15m),Ibrahim Saadu(N15m),Sabitu El-Liti(N10m)Shehu Al Hassan(Gashimbarki’s younger brother who he has since paid N35m),Ayuba Isyaku(N15m)Baba Sagamu(N15m).If he’s claiming that we were his apprentices then why did he pay his younger brother Shehu N32m as entitlements? Infact, the company sponsored us on Hajj but because of the restrictions on pilgrims from Nigeria and he promised to give us our money for the trip which is about N60,000 each but up till now he has failed to do so. He had since taken some children of the late El-liti into his custody in order to deny them of their father’s entitlements and so that people can think that he’s magnanimous’’

All the aggrieved persons said that Gashimbarki who runs an illegal money transfer outfit had been depriving them of their benefits’’

  Gashimbarki responds to the botched Hajj thus ’’I asked that their money be refunded as soon as the trip was aborted but I did not know that they were yet to be paid because they didn’t come back to tell me that Shehu didn’t pay them.I settled my brother Shehu who was also one of my ‘apprentices’ their by paying him N32m because I was actually the one who stopped him from continuing his education so that he could assist me in my business’’ Isn’t Gashimbarki speaking from both sides of his mouth? Well,we leave you to do the judgement!