River Park Estate: Resignation letter of Nigerian developer raises fresh questions over ownership

The dispute over River Park Estate in Lugbe, Abuja, has come under the scrutiny of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministerial Review Committee, which has paid visits to the site.

Earlier reports had indicated that a Ministerial Task Force halted construction activities within the estate and arrested some workers who allegedly ignored a subsisting court directive.

An Abuja High Court had ordered parties in the dispute to “maintain the status quo” and stay off the contested properties, pending resolution of the ownership and development battle.

At the centre of the controversy is the question of who truly controls the estate. While Dr Adrian Ogunmuyiwa has insisted that he was the founder of Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited, the company behind the development, and not Ghanaian investors as widely claimed, documents obtained suggest otherwise.

A memo dated July 1, 2017, addressed to Mr Kojo Ansah, Chief Executive Officer of Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited, shows that developer Adrian Ogun had resigned from the boards of the two firms.

The document, which he also copied to Mr Paul Odili of Paulo Homes Limited, revoked an earlier debt settlement arrangement and highlighted outstanding obligations.

He wrote, “Dear Kojo, It is with much regret that I feel obliged to write this letter revoking and cancelling as ‘void the Agreement to reduce the debt claims of Common Consultants Ltd against Jonah Capital reached at a River Park Board Meeting, held on 20th October 2016. The aforementioned Board was chaired by Mr Paul Odili of Paulo Homes, attended by you, representing Jonah Capital and myself representing Common Consultants (with Yinka Kehinde as minute taker).

“Prior to the River Park Board meeting claims by CCL against Jonah Capital for both River Park and Kaba land expenses amounted to NGN61,142,133 as at 30th September, 2016. During the Board meeting, I agreed to an abated payment on condition that: 1) the whole outstanding debt owed to CCL was paid by 31st December 2016 and 2) 52 million naira in Development Control fees and 10 million naira in late payment penalties were paid by Jonah Capital Nigeria directly to the FCT in respect of Kaba land.

“Today, nine months after the Board meeting, legal rights on the 23 hectares of land at Kaba are in jeopardy owing to Jonah Capital failing to pay the outstanding FCT fees.

“My prayers are that: 1) Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd pay the outstanding FCT Development Control bill as at 30th June, 2017 immediately, in order to protect and retain ownership of the 23 hectares of land at Kaba.

“2) Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd respectfully settle immediately the debt owed to Common Consultants Ltd as at 31 May, 2017 amounting to NGN102,840,493 in cash or land.

“3) You please accept my immediate resignation from the Board of Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited (JCNL) and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited (HFAN). Since, ‘CCL does not have any dealings with JCNL and HFAN’ since handover by John Townley Johnson of Houses for African Holdings to JCNL in 2012. Please can you kindly arrange for Sir Sam Jonah and other directors to sign the CO2 and CO7 forms as soon as possible. Yours sincerely, Adrian Ogun.”

The emergence of the resignation letter has further complicated the ownership claims, as government panels weigh legal and regulatory compliance in the contested estate.