The Office of the Attorney General of t TVhe Federation (AGF) has taken over the prosecution of criminal charges against directors of JonahCapital Ltd, a Ghanaian investment firm, and their Nigerian counsel, in the lingering dispute over River Park Estate, Abuja.
The police had on June 25 filed a 26-count charge before the FCT High Court, Gwarinpa, against Sir Sam Jonah, Kojo Ansah, Victor Quainoo, Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd, and lawyer Abu Arome, alleging forgery of ownership documents.
When the matter came up yesterday, state counsel, Aderonke Imana, announced her appearance on behalf of the AGF, explaining that she had instructions to take over the matter pursuant to Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, in view of numerous petitions arising from the dispute. She noted, however, that the case file had not yet been transmitted to her office by the police.
Justice Modupe-Osho Adebiyi allowed the takeover application without objection and adjourned to November 11.
The defendants, through counsel, cautioned against criminalising routine corporate filings and land transactions, insisting that a prior investigative panel had already dismissed similar forgery allegations by Paul Odili of Paulo Homes, an adverse claimant to the property. They further alleged that the present charges emanated from a report by the IGP Monitoring Unit which was issued without granting them an opportunity to respond.
It would be recalled that FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had recently disclosed that a ministerial review panel confirmed JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd as the original allottee of Plot 4, Cadastral Zone E30, Lugbe, during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, until a later dispute arose following their engagement of Paulo Homes for building approvals.
