Former Big Brother Naija Season 6 housemate Samuel Alifa, better known as Sammie, has dismissed allegations of a ₦4.4 million audition scam.
This comes after a businessman, identified as Emmanuel Idakwo, alleged that the reality TV star defrauded him of ₦4.4 million during his attempt to audition for the BBNaija show.
Naijaonpoint reports that Idakwo, in an interview with Punch, claimed that he trusted Sammie because he had previously been in the house and had a better understanding of the audition process.
Idakwo admitted that the organisers of the show do not request payment, but agreed to pay because their shared origin (Kogi State) and tribe (Igala), stressing that Sammie told him it was the new way of getting into the show.
According to him, Sammie allegedly made a payment on his behalf before informing him about it.
Idakwo also alleged that he had to sell his car to pay Sammie over ₦4 million in 16 instalments, adding that he became suspicious when the BBNaija star was unable to refund the money after things didn’t go as planned.
He said, “The next thing, he called me and said he had some money with him, so he paid on my behalf. I asked why he would do that, because I had told him I did not have that kind of money. But, he said I shouldn’t be scared, that the money was refundable. He claimed that the money would be refunded once I exited the house. He told me that even if I didn’t make it into the house, the money would still be refunded; that it was a new twist to that season.”
Responding to the allegation, Sammie maintained that he neither defrauded Idakwo nor promised to get him on the show.
He said, “I truly appreciate your concern and your interest in hearing my side of the story. However, just as I’ve shared with other journalists, I would prefer not to speak on this matter at the moment. I want to be clear that I did not scam anyone, nor did I promise to get him on the show.”
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