By Henry Ojelu

LAGOS — An event planner, Owoyemi Sarah, has denied wrongdoing over an alleged Point of Sale, POS, transaction, insisting she acted cautiously after being informed that money had mistakenly been transferred into her account amid an ongoing business relationship with a client.

Sarah, who is the  Chief Executive Officer of Event Planner of Nigeria Limited,  made the clarification in a statement responding to recent online publications concerning her business dealings with Patricks Diagnostic Limited, represented by Mr. Amadi Stanislaus.

She said the reports presented a one-sided account of the dispute and failed to capture the circumstances surrounding both the business transaction and the disputed POS payment.

According to Sarah, her company was engaged to execute a branding and event production contract valued at about ₦3 million.

She explained that she was informed of an initial budget of about ₦2 million by their investor, Anbio Biotechnology, to be managed for the project, with assurances of future business opportunities.

She, however, said payments were delayed after work commenced, adding that an initial deposit of ₦1 million was received on May 25, while the balance was expected to be paid at the event venue on June 1.

To meet project timelines, she said her team mobilised to the venue on the night of May 30 and commenced production the following day despite the financial strain created by the delayed payment. She believed she had received a balance payment from her client of exactly 400k on June 1st, as agreed with her client, and at the same time, until situations took another dimension when a man identified as Louis contacted her, claiming that funds had been mistakenly transferred into her account through a POS transaction.

According to her, she did not immediately process it with fear and believed her client used their pos to pay up because of the increasing cases of electronic payment fraud, and she requested verification before releasing the money.

She said she asked the caller to provide evidence of the alleged previous transaction, details of where it was carried out, and proof of identity.

Sarah stated that although the caller did not provide all the requested information, he later ONLY forwarded his National Identification Number, NIN, which she said appeared to support his claim.

“I informed him that I had initiated the reimbursement process through my banking platform and that the funds would be returned during my next transaction,” she said.

She, however, alleged that communication broke down after the caller threatened her, prompting her to block his telephone number.

The event planner further stated that an outstanding balance of about ₦400,000 under the contract subsequently became a source of disagreement between her and Mr. Stanislaus.

She also alleged that on June 3, she reported to the police claims of bullying, threats, and the forceful seizure of her mobile phones during the dispute.

According to her, the phones were later returned during efforts to resolve the matter, while both parties exchanged apologies for future sakes.

She maintained, however, that aspects of the dispute remain unresolved.

Sarah also expressed concern over what she described as online publications and public commentary that had portrayed only one side of the matter, saying they had negatively affected her reputation.

While acknowledging that the issues remain in dispute, she said she was confident that the relevant authorities and due legal process would determine the facts.

She reaffirmed her commitment to conducting business with integrity and professionalism and urged members of the public to refrain from concluding until all the facts surrounding the matter have been established.