- The defendants allegedly used falsified documents to increase share capital and allocate 99 million shares to themselves.
- Police attached final investigation report and defendants’ statements to the 126-count charge marked CR/402/2025.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied claims that he allocated 501 hectares of land to Ghanaian businessman, Sam Jonah, for the establishment of River Park Estate, Abuja.
Obasanjo made the clarification in a letter dated July 10, 2025, which he addressed to the inspector general of police.
The IGP had, in a letter dated July 4, 2025, requested Obasanjo to confirm Jonah’s claim regarding the ownership of the land.
Jonah had alleged in a petition to the police, following a dispute over River Park Estate’s ownership, that Obasanjo allocated the land to him.
Acting on the petition over the ownership of the estate and its affiliate companies, the police conducted an investigation and released a forensic report dated November 29, 2024, and a final report on June 27, 2025.
“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 absolutely untrue, fictitious, misleading and libellous,” Obasanjo stated.
Police said Obasanjo’s response aligns with his earlier letter dated July 1, 2025, where he insisted Jonah’s claim was a case of mistaken recollection.
Based on the investigation, Jonah, a knight of the British Empire, alongside two Ghanaians — Kojo Ansah and Victor Quainoo — and Abuja-based lawyer, Abu Arome, will be arraigned before Justice Modupe-Osho Adebiyi of an FCT high court.
They are to face charges of forgery aimed at illegally taking over Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd, Jonahcapital Nigeria Ltd and assuming control of River Park Estate Abuja.
The police alleged that while Obasanjo’s response was awaited, Arome falsely claimed in the media that the IGP had ordered a fresh investigation into the matter.
The controversy over the estate land led to the police filing a 126-count charge against those accused of forging company documents and submitting them at the CAC Abuja.
The charge, signed by Isa Garba, prosecuting counsel from the legal department of the Force Headquarters, was marked CR/402/2025.
According to the IGP, the accused persons allegedly increased the company’s share capital and allocated 99 million shares to themselves using falsified documents and forged signatures.
They also allegedly misrepresented themselves as Nigerian citizens before the CAC to facilitate fraudulent activities.
The police listed several exhibits in the charge to prove fraud, forgery and impersonation against the defendants.
Also attached to the charge are the final investigation report, defendants’ statements, and a letter relinquishing eight million shares allegedly signed by John Townley Johnson.