A lawyer, Fatayi Osholonge, has threatened to take legal action against a travel agency, Ashton and Dave, Victoria Island, Lagos for not arranging a pilgrimage to Jerusalem after he had paid about N1.3m for the trip.
Osholonge said he had in November approached the company to arrange a pilgrimage for his wife and himself.
The lawyer said the company handed him over to one of its outsourced agent, Bola Taiwo, a pastor, who arranges pilgrimage documentation.
But he alleged that after paying N1m into the company's account, the company and the pilgrimage liaison failed to arrange the trip.
Osholonge said, "When I was handed over to the pastor for the embassy liaison, he told me the set of pilgrims we would be going with would go to Rome from Jerusalem.
"He demanded N160,000 and I paid N320,000 for myself and my wife for the second leg of the pilgrimage.
"Pastor Taiwo promised that we would go on the trip by November 17 but because of my wife's birthday, which would clash with that date, he gave us another date, December 3."
According to him, Taiwo defaulted and gave, December 17 as another date. Osholonge said it was then that he realised he might have been duped.
But an official of Ashton and Dave, Mr. Lanre Onabanjo, who acknowledged that the firm could not arrange the trip as promised, said the lawyer had not been duped as he claimed.
Onabanjo said, "I certified the pastor (Taiwo) on the job because we have been dealing with him for many years and knew he cannot dupe him.
"But when he introduced the Rome part of the pilgrimage to Osholonge, he should have told him that the processing of the visa would take some time. He was not just dealing with the Israeli Embassy anymore but also the Italian Embassy.
"The visa was not ready by the date Taiwo gave him. I expected that the pastor should have explained that to him. But Osholonge later insisted that he was not interested in the trip again and demanded his money."
Onabanjo said the visa was now ready but if Osholonge insisted he wanted his money back, he would get it.
He, however, said the firm had to deduct the expenses incurred while processing the trip and visa from the money paid by Osholonge.
Asked how much Osholonge could get, he said he could not determine that immediately since a breakdown of bills paid and expenses would have to be done.
"I am really surprised he feels he was duped. I know the pastor cannot control how visas are issued. He was later given December 17 for take-off but he said he could not celebrate Christmas outside the country and demanded a refund," he said.
When our correspondent contacted Taiwo on the phone, he admitted collecting N320, 000 from Osholonge.
He explained that since the client had insisted he wanted his money back, he would pay him as soon as possible.
"I plan to go to the office of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission in Abuja. I can assure him that he will get his money back," he said.
