By Abiola Olawale
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied allegations of allocating 501 hectares of land to Ghanaian businessman Sir Sam Jonah.
This comes after Jonah had claimed that Obasanjo allocated 501 hectares of land for the development of River Park Estate in Abuja.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, Obasanjo labeled Jonah’s claim as “absolutely untrue, fictitious, misleading, and libelous.”
The controversy stems from a petition by Jonah, a Knight of the British Empire, asserting that Obasanjo had personally granted him the expansive land for the estate, one of Abuja’s largest real estate projects.
Following the claims, IGP, in a letter dated July 4, 2025, sought Obasanjo’s clarification on the matter.
Responding, Obasanjo stated in the letter that: “The claim of Sam Jonah that I invited him to allocate 501 hectares of land to him or his company or one single plot of land for that matter is untrue, fictitious, misleading, and libelous.”
The New Diplomat reports that the dispute over River Park Estate’s ownership has escalated, with Nigerian Police filing a 26-count charge against Jonah, two other Ghanaians—Kojo Ansah and Victor Quainoo—an Abuja-based lawyer, Abu Arome, and Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd.
The charges, filed on June 26, 2025, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, alleged forgery of company documents to illegally seize control of Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd, Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd, and the River Park Estate.
Police investigations, including a forensic report dated November 29, 2024, and a final report from June 27, 2025, revealed that the accused allegedly falsified documents, including board resolutions, to increase share capital and allocate 99 million shares to themselves. These actions, according to the prosecution, involved forged signatures and false representations as Nigerian citizens to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
