Statesman and business mogul, Sir Dr Sam Jonah, has petitioned the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to intervene in what he describes as the unlawful attempt to deprive him of his investment in a housing project in Nigeria.
In a detailed petition, he said the intervention was necessary to protect the “rights of Ghanaian nationals and Ghanaian-led investments”.
The petition is based on a protracted dispute over the River Park Estate in the Nigerian Capital, Abuja, which Sir Sam and other investors started in 2007.
Apart from the petition to Mr Ablakwa, Sir Sam has also petitioned Nigeria’s foremost anti-graft agency, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Federal Minister of Trade and Industry of Nigeria, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, and a member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Muktar Tolani Shagaya.
The statesman stated that there was a deliberate and illegal attempt, orchestrated by an agent employed by the Directors of the company behind the estate, supported by some Nigerian police and government officials, to forcibly take over his interests in the estate.
Also, he accused the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria of illegally diluting and expropriating his shares in JonahCapital Nigeria, the company behind the project, in flagrant violation of the orders of the Federal High Court of Nigeria.
Request to Foreign Minister
Sir Sam is, therefore, requesting the Foreign Minister to, among other things, engage the Attorney–General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to expedite his review of police reports on the issue and further direct the police to desist from taking further actions.
He is also asking the Foreign Minister to “demand the Immediate Reversal of the unlawful alterations to preserve our assets from being dissipated while the court cases are being determined”.
Again, he is requesting the minister to “alert ECOWAS of the Breach of Regional Investment Protections”.
He is further urging the Foreign Affairs Minister to “engage the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, who oversees the Corporate Affairs Commission”.
Background
Giving the background to the crisis in his petition, Sir Sam said Jonahcapital Nigeria Limited was incorporated on October 13, 2006, with him (Sir Sam) having 40 per cent of the shares of the company, with two other individuals holding 30 per cent each of the company.
The company, he said, was set up to engage in mass housing development in Nigeria.
“In 2007, JonahCapital invited a US-based investor (Houses for Africa Holdings Inc, USA, a Delaware-based Company (HFA, USA) to invest in its operations.
Consequently, Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited was incorporated on February 7, 2008, as a Nigerian Company Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd,” he said.
He explained that the new arrangement led to Houses for Africa Inc, Delaware, to become the majority shareholder of the new company with 80 per cent of the total shares.
“It is instructive to note that the major financier of Houses for Africa Holding and Houses for Africa Nigeria was FMO Bank Netherlands.
However, in 2011, FMO withdrew its financial backing for both companies.
Consequently, on July 13, 2012, Sir Sam Jonah acquired 7,500,000 units of shares held by Houses for Africa Holding in Houses for Africa Nigeria vide a Completion Agreement executed between Sir Sam Jonah and HFA, USA,” he added.
Sir Sam said the crisis started in 2024, when he (Sir Sam) demanded accountability from an agent of the company contracted by HFA to secure the approval of 330 hectares of land for the project.
He accused the agent of misrepresenting himself as the owner of the River Park Estate, when the agent was not a director or shareholder of the company.
He further stated that due to this misrepresentation, JonahCapital Nigeria Limited instituted civil actions against the agent and also petitioned the Inspector General of Police of Nigeria to investigate allegations of forgery against the agent.
Sir Sam accused the agent of circumventing the investigation process and also conspiring with public officials to illegally take over the company.
