In May, Victor Adakole, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), visited Lagos’ biggest ICT market, Computer Village, to buy an iPhone 13 and repair his PlayStation 5 (PS5). He’d asked a friend for advice on how to navigate the sprawling market and researched how to ensure the phone’s authenticity when buying. Still, he fell victim to fraud, losing ₦15,000 to a fake repairman and abandoning his plan to buy the phone altogether.
Adakole says he’d walked into what appeared to be a legitimate shop. At the same time he entered, a young man followed him in, offering to repair the PS5. After a brief inspection, he told Adakole he needed ₦15,000 to buy a part for the repair. Adakole handed over the cash, trusting that the man was affiliated with the shop he stood in.
“I gave him the money and he asked me to wait, but that was the last time I saw him,” Adakole says. “When I asked the shop owner, they claimed not to know the guy and even said they thought we came together since he followed me into the shop. I was confused and heartbroken.”
Adakole’s story mirrors the experiences of many buyers who visit Computer Village to purchase or repair devices only to end up paying for empty parcels or items that develop faults shortly after.
For decades, Lagos’ Computer Village has been known for affordable and resourceful gadget deals and repair services. But the market’s reputation has suffered, and it is now notorious for scams, counterfeit products, and bait-and-switch schemes that have eroded customer trust.
Bello Lateef, a long-time gadget trader, believes that buyers unknowingly expose themselves to scams when they deal with merchants who have no physical shops and lure them with cheaper prices. “Most people come in, meet those boys standing outside shops, and hand over their devices or money that they may never get back.”
Merchants are rethinking how they engage with customers in light of this reputation, and now leverage social media and e-commerce platforms like JiJi to improve transparency, rebuild trust, and expand their reach.
Joseph Daniel, who has spent eight years selling phones and accessories at the market, said he turned to digital platforms as part of his business survival strategy, majorly relying on Jiji and WhatsApp to drive sales.
“When people started hearing that scams and fake gadgets are common in Computer Village, they stopped coming, and that affected those of us running legit businesses,” he said. “Customers are now much interested to see your online activities, your store proof, and reviews from other buyers before they could trust you. They know you can’t run from your reputation online because just one bad review can ruin your credibility.”
Double checking using online channels
Although Yetunde David bought a laptop that went blank just a week later in 2023, she has continued to shop at Computer Village but with added caution. She double-checks vendors online, reviews their social media presence for customer feedback, confirms their contact number if reachable, before tracing them to their physical shops. “If they have no online presence or aren’t active, I just move on. That’s the safest option for me.”
Still, this method isn’t foolproof as online footprints can disappear physically.
“One time, I spoke with a seller and went to meet him at his supposed location,” David recalled. “He was there truly, but he didn’t have a shop, just hanging around. He told me his apprentice went home with the keys to his shop, which was clearly a lie to me.”
As merchants move online, the responsibility of consumer protection and fraud prevention distributes itself to include e-commerce platforms. On Jiji, sellers must be verified and buyers can flag sellers for fake listings or fraud.
Nevertheless, online marketplaces remain largely self-regulated, leaving buyers vulnerable, relying on seller activity and responsiveness to assess trustworthiness.
In 2023, Umar Tijani was referred by a friend to a vendor on Instagram, and ordered a new iPhone XS Max. The package was delivered, but to his surprise, the new device, which was sealed, turned out to be a used product after noticing the screen light was shaking. “Though I got a replacement after reporting the incident to the police, the experience left me cautious about purchasing gadgets online.”
Avoiding Computer Village scams on- and offline
Adetoyese Adebiyi, a gadget seller at Computer Village, said the first rule is to only buy from a reliable plug; a trusted merchant either discovered by self or referred to by someone close. Unfamiliarity makes buyers easy targets to be scammed, he warned.
“Scammers don’t wear it on their foreheads,” he said. “But most times, the ones who whistle at you or try to drag you asking ‘you wan buy or you wan sell?’ are the usual suspects. Those are the people who will scam you, they can even sell food to you instead of a phone.”
Another red flag is when sellers offer prices that seem too good to be true, Adebiyi said. The outcome is often gadgets that are of inferior quality or cloned.
Online, he advised buyers to do basic background checks by verifying the seller’s page, checking their online activities, reading customer feedback, and taking caution if intermediaries are involved.
“Sometimes, when you post an item online, they [an intermediary typically not affiliated with a seller] repost it too to make it look like they’re part of your business. They’ll lure the customer to your location, and while the customer is checking the item, they’ll ask to pay directly to them instead of the shop owner. Once payment is made, they disappear,” he explained.
Lateef advised that new customers visiting Computer Village should look for physical shops with visible banners that include both the shop owner’s image and phone number. This, he said, is a useful way to confirm the legitimacy of the business. Using the contact details on the banner to directly trace the owner can help buyers avoid falling into the hands of impersonators posing as legitimate sellers.
He also explained that to verify a gadget’s authenticity, buyers should cross-check the serial number and ensure that the details match with what is on the carton. According to him, “If any part is missing, it’s likely the product has been tampered with.” He added that in some cases, fraudsters mix parts from different devices, such as selling a “Samsung phone fitted with a Tecno battery and an Infinix screen.”
Reacting to consumer protection, Lateef said that while the market has a disciplinary committee responsible for resolving buyer-seller disputes within the market, he noted that they “can only do their best,” emphasising that customers still need to be vigilant. Efforts to reach members of this committee were futile.
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