A restaurant worker accused of diverting payments into his personal account by social media personality King Mitchy has broken his silence, claiming he spent three days in police detention over what he described as a misunderstanding.
The worker, who identified himself as Joseph, said the incident occurred on November 2 when King Mitchy visited the restaurant and ordered a cocktail.
According to him, he mistakenly provided his personal bank account details when she requested an account number to make payment.
Recounting the incident in a video shared on social media on Monday by @NigeriaStories, Joseph said he immediately realised his mistake and apologised, explaining that the restaurant’s Point of Sale machine was temporarily unavailable.
He claimed he was attempting to power the machine to provide the correct payment details when King Mitchy began recording him without his knowledge.
“I realised my mistake and apologised immediately. I explained that the POS machine was not available and that I was trying to put it on so I could give her the restaurant’s account details,” he said.
Joseph further alleged that after the matter was reported to the hotel’s chief security officer, King Mitchy left without paying for her drink.
He said he and the security officer later approached her at the car park to request a screenshot of the account details to enable the management to investigate the transaction.
The worker disclosed that he subsequently spent three days in police custody as the hotel management investigated the allegations.
“I spent three days in detention over the incident,” he said, adding that the management reviewed the circumstances surrounding the matter and his employment record before allowing him to resume work.
Defending himself against the accusation, Joseph insisted that he had no intention of diverting the customer’s payment, describing the incident as an honest mistake.
He also accused King Mitchy of sharing selected portions of their interaction online, arguing that the videos did not capture the complete conversation or his explanations.
Joseph expressed appreciation to the hotel management for giving him another opportunity, saying he hoped to rebuild his reputation after the controversy.
The incident generated attention on social media following King Mitchy’s allegations that the restaurant employee had attempted to redirect a customer’s payment into a personal account.
Joseph’s response has, however, introduced a different account of the encounter, with the worker maintaining that the provision of his personal account details was an error rather than a deliberate attempt to divert the restaurant’s revenue.
