We hereby retract the article titled “Lagos’ Estate residents seek arrest, prosecution of LASTMA Boss over embezzlement of N50m for Transformer,” published on www.withinnigeria.com on May 31, 2023.
Although the article was withdrawn 48 hours after publication, we recognise the necessity of issuing a formal retraction to adequately address this oversight. Furthermore, upon review, we determined that the content did not reflect our intended objectives, and it was brought to our attention that its publication may have contributed to the propagation of inaccurate information regarding Maple Wood estate and its management, particularly Mr Akerele Oseni.
Our media organisation is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of journalistic ethics. In this spirit, we made the decision to retract the article within two days of its publication when new information emerged that had not been available previously. Additionally, we published a rebuttal from the leadership of the estate association, in which they refuted the allegations reported in our initial story: https://www.withinnigeria.com/news/2023/06/14/lagos-estate-leadership-refutes-n50m-fraud-allegation/.
Although the widely disputed narrative did not originate from us, our initial publication was intended solely to report on public unrest and its alleged catalyst, as observed by our reporter from multiple accounts on the well-known Nigerian forum, Nairaland. It was not our intention to validate the accuracy of the claims arising from this situation, including allegations regarding the unaccounted sum of N50 million purportedly contributed by residents of the estate and managed by the estate’s administration.
Nevertheless, the leadership of Maplewood Estate refuted the allegations brought forth by our source and various news outlets, confirming that the chairman had no involvement in the estate’s finances. Furthermore, they clarified that the sum mentioned in our report was not the actual total contributed by the landlords towards purchasing a new power transformer, which was needed after their previous one failed and caused an extended power outage in the upscale neighbourhood.
Mr Akerele clarified that ₦33 million, rather than ₦50 million, was reportedly collected for the project, with each landlord in the estate contributing ₦200,000; this was further confirmed by the Chairman of Works, Jimoh Alade. In addition to noting significant inaccuracies and partial information in the previous report, it was also established that the chairman does not participate in the management of the estate’s finances.
We wish to clarify that it was never our intention to damage anyone’s reputation or question their character, particularly Mr Akerele. We extend our sincere apologies for any unintended consequences or misunderstandings arising from this regrettable oversight.