The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has petitioned ECOWAS to investigate the alleged interference with Ghanaian businesses in Nigeria.
The petition was made at by the sector minister, Samuel Okuzato Ablakwa at the 95th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of ministers, held in Abuja, Nigeria from December 10 to December 12.
During the meeting Mr Ablakwa, raised concerns over alleged treatments meted out to Ghanaian businesses by authorities in neighboring Nigeria and condemned what he described as the harassment of Ghanaian investors particularly Jonah Capital PLC, a real estate company, owned by Ghanaian businessman Sir Samuel Jonah..
The Foreign Affairs minister, then presented, a petition on behalf of the company, and urged the council to take action to avert any cross border trade conflict that may arise as a result.
The Council noted the concern raised by the Ghanaian minister, and requested for additional information on the matter.
Background
The petition to ECOWAS, followed nearly a year long ownership dispute over a multi-billion-naira River Park Estate in Abuja matter, which has escalated into a full-blown corporate crisis, amid mounting pressure on Nigeria’s Minister of Trade over allegations that Ghanaian-owned companies operating in Nigeria were subjected to an extraordinary corporate expropriation—a development that could trigger a Nigeria–Ghana trade dispute between two countries long regarded as regional partners and economic allies.
At the centre of the controversy is one Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, a Senior Advocate of Niger and the Registrar-General of Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
According to allegations now before Nigeria’s National Assembly and diplomats, Magaji, acting through the CAC, allegedly approved the expropriation and reassignment of shares belonging to JonahCapital Nigeria Limited and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited, companies owned by prominent Ghanaian businessmen Dr. Samuel Jonah.
These actions are said to have been taken despite an express directive from the Attorney General of the Federation.
The alleged expropriation reportedly occurred while court proceedings were already pending, with formal service effected on the CAC on November 28, 2025—raising serious questions about due process, judicial respect, and regulatory overreach.
The controversy has also spilled beyond Nigeria’s borders.
Despite being formally petitioned, Nigeria’s Minister of Trade has yet to issue a public response, deepening concern among investors and foreign business community.
With ECOWAS now seized of the matter and the CAC RG under intense scrutiny, observers warn that Nigeria’s next steps may determine whether this dispute is resolved institutionally—or escalates into a broader economic and diplomatic confrontation between two of West Africa’s closest allies.