Goodness Alaba (not real name), an Ondo State-based fashion designer, has narrated how LCredit, a money lending outfit, threatened to use measures similar to operations Crocodile Smile and Python Dance, both warfare operations by the Nigerian military, in recovering a loan from her.
Alaba told FIJ that she made up her mind to not repay the loan after the money lending company sent messages to her phone contacts in March, describing her as a ”professional criminal who ran away with company money”.
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“I actually begged them for a repayment deadline extension of the N22,000 I owed during the period but they declined my request,” Alaba said.
Screenshot of message
“The following day, after I missed the deadline, they sent messages to all the contacts on my phone. Shame would not let me come out from my house because of that incident for days.
Message
“After this, I told my husband that I was not going to pay back the money because of their action.”
Alaba said LCredit’s agents continued to plead with her to repay the money but she asked them to take back their words.
“I told them to first of all send apology messages to all the contacts they sent the March message to but they did not,” the fashion designer said.
“On Monday, I just finished dressing my son when their message came in again. They said they would use Operation Python Dance to collect the money from me. I am not moved. I will be waiting for them.”
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Alaba told FIJ that she would never repay the money if LCredit refused to send the apology messages to her contacts.
A part of the latest message sent to her read:
“You can decide not to pay but we will make sure you regret this act and we will still get the money from you. A panel is on set on your behave to handle this. Am sure you have heard about operation crocodile smile and python dance, (used by the military, something related is about to happen. Am so sure you can’t stand this, you can dare the company!”
In August, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) instructed fintech solution providers and telecommunication companies who were not duly registered businesses in Nigeria and had violated the privacy rights of borrowers to shut down.
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Before this, the commission had, in September 2021, issued a statement announcing the beginning of an investigation into rights violations in the money lending industry.
Despite fines, sanctions and eventual shutdown of some of these firms, many of them have continued to devise new means of harassing their debtors. Some of them have also changed their names and logos.
FIJ made several calls to the phone line on LCredit’s website, but they were not answered. A text message sent to the company had also not been responded to at press time.