JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, has invoked the intervention of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in the high profile matter of the disputed 501-hectare property in Abuja, Nigeria.
At the centre of the case is River Park Estate, the vast mixed-use property in Lugbe, Abuja, conceived to accommodate more than 11,000 housing units and about 42,000 residents, alongside shops, offices, healthcare facilities, places of worship and other infrastructure.
JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, Mr Jonah’s business interest in Africa’s biggest economy, is said to be a victim of forced contractual termination by the Federal Capital Development Authority, four years before the supposed contract is scheduled to expire.
By the new development, JonahCapital has invoked the arbitration provisions said to be contained in its Development Lease Agreement with Nigerian authorities, inviting the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris to resolve a dispute that has festered for a year.
The ICC International Court of Arbitration administers private arbitration proceedings conducted by arbitral tribunals where parties have contractually agreed to submit disputes to arbitration.
The processes at the Chamber of Commerce are distinctly different from procedures at the International Criminal Court where alleged crime is prosecuted and sanctions pronounced on the guilty party.
While JonahCapital maintains that the development agreement remains valid until June 2030, the Federal Capital Development Authority claims to have terminated the said development agreement.
According to the respected norvanreports.com, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has acknowledged that the arbitration is underway.
“The other party has gone to arbitration, and we said okay, let them conclude the arbitration process,” the report quoted him as having said.
The dispute involves competing versions of corporate ownership, contested interpretations of a nearly two-decade-old development agreement, criminal allegations, government enforcement actions, alleged destruction of property, among others.
The Development Lease Agreement is said to have been executed on May 28, 2007, between the Federal Capital Territory authorities and JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, and registered on June 5, 2007.
It provided development rights over approximately 501 hectares for the construction of the River Park project.
Claims, counter-claims
While the news portal states that Mr Wike had himself publicly acknowledged an agreement between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) authorities and JonahCapital, former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo, now disputes claims that the allocation of land was done under his watch.
“The FCT has no agreement with Paulo Homes. The only agreement we signed was with JonahCapital,” Mr Wike was reported to have said in September 2025 while explaining the origins of the dispute.
Meanwhile, Mr Obasanjo strongly denied personally allocating the 501 hectares to Sir Sam Jonah.
In July 2025, responding to a request from Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Mr Obasanjo described any claim that he personally allocated land to Sir Sam Jonah or his company as “absolutely untrue, fictitious, misleading and libellous”.
Under the ICC’s 2026 rules, which took effect on June 1 this year, arbitration can proceed where parties have agreed to resolve their disputes under the institution’s rules, and a final arbitral award is binding on the parties.
