By: Barabara Kumah
Business giant, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah and two of his Ghanaian business partners, owners of River Park Estate development in Abuja have filed a lawsuit against high ranking police officers and officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , accusing them of harassment, intimidation, and allegedly stifling findings in an ongoing land ownership dispute, between the three Ghanaian businessmen and some individuals in the real estate industry in Nigeria.
Mr. Jonah and his partners, are suing for 200 million naira (cedi equivalent of over one million Ghana cedis) in exemplary damages, and also a demand for an immediate release of the findings of a panel that investigated the dispute, and also an order for perpetual injunction to stop further harassment by the defendants.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, names the Inspector General of Police, the FCT Commissioner of Police, the Head of the IGP Monitoring Unit, DCP Akin Fakorede, and some officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including a Zonal Police Commander, one Michael Wetkas and another investigator Eunice Vou Dalyop.
The Ghanaian investors, led by Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Chief Executive Officer of Jonahcapital Nigeria Limited, Kojo Ansah Mensah, and Victor Quainoo. Together, the three Ghanaian businessmen, are demanding the immediate release of the findings of a panel that investigated the ownership of a property at the River Park Estate, in Nigeria, where plaintiffs’, claim to have acquired and own legally.
The dispute follows a 2013 joint venture agreement between the three Ghanaian investors, who are owners of real estate company JonahCapital Nigerian Limited, and its development partner, Houses for Africa, who allege that Paulo Homes Limited also a real estate company, and its Chief Executive Officer, Paul Odili, illegally encroached on over 120 hectares of land beyond what was agreed.
The Ghanaian businessmen additionally accuse Mr. Odili of falsifying land approval documents to claim ownership of the disputed property. According to CEO of JonahCaptial, Kojo Ansah-Mensah, at the start of the disagreement over the property in question, the Inspector General of Police in Nigeria, constituted a committee to inquire into the dispute.
And although, the committee’s report is allegedly ready, the Ghanaian investigators say, it has not been published neither has it been released to them even after the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation have formally requested for the report.
The plaintiffs claim, a fresh investigation has been launched under the instructions of DCP Akin Fakorede, whom they, accuse of using tags to harass and intimidate them and the property in question. This, the Ghanaian investors, claim is intended to cover up the original findings of the panel in order to disadvantage them.
The plaintiffs, referencing section 35 and 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, and provisions in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, accused the defendants of violating their constitutional rights, to dignity, property, and freedom of movement, and therefore urged the Federal High Court, in Abuja, to uphold the rule of law, to ensure accountability, and safeguard the rights of foreign investors doing business in Nigeria.
