A social media post recounting how a man allegedly deceived neighbours and friends into donating money for a fake medical emergency has triggered heated reactions online.

The story was shared by a lady on X, where she explained that residents in her area reportedly contributed money after a young man claimed his mother urgently needed surgery.

According to her, many people sympathised with the emotional appeal and willingly sent financial assistance. While some individuals allegedly donated as little as ₦2,000, others reportedly contributed up to ₦50,000.

She further claimed that one woman in their compound even withdrew money from her thrift savings because she genuinely believed the medical situation was real.

The lady wrote: “A guy in my area borrowed money from almost everyone last year. He claimed his mother was in hospital and needed urgent surgery.

People chipped in, some sent ₦2,000, others ₦50,000. One woman in our compound even withdrew money from her thrift savings because she felt sorry for him. Everyone was praying for his ‘mom.’”

Two weeks later, someone posted videos of his birthday party in Lekki. Champagne, a new iPhone, a hotel room, loud music. The worst part?

“When people confronted him, he laughed and said: ‘If you people were wise, you wouldn’t believe every sad story online.’”

“To this day, some people still defend him because ‘hustle is hard.’ Maybe I’m too emotional, but I feel that once someone can comfortably lie about their own mother for money, nothing is off limits anymore. Would you forgive someone like that?”