FORMER Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has publicly distanced himself from ongoing claims by Ghanaian billionaire and businessman, Sir Sam Jonah, that he (Obasanjo) personally allocated 501 hectares of land in Abuja for the development of the now controversial River Park Estate.
In a letter dated July 10, 2025, addressed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) obtained by News Point Nigeria, Obasanjo categorically denied any such land allocation, describing Jonah’s claim as “absolutely untrue, fictitious, misleading and libellous.”
The IGP’s inquiry, made on July 4, 2025, sought to verify claims made by Jonah, a respected international business figure and Knight of the British Empire, who has been implicated in a high-profile corporate fraud case involving several companies and properties in Abuja’s fast-growing Lugbe district.
Obasanjo’s response reinforces an earlier letter he wrote to the Police dated July 1, 2025, in which he firmly stated that if Jonah believed he was granted land by the presidency, he was “completely mistaken in his recollection.”
“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,” Obasanjo wrote.
The former president’s rebuttal comes amidst a brewing legal and corporate crisis involving forgery, impersonation, and fraudulent manipulation of corporate records tied to River Park Estate.
The development, which spans several hectares along the Airport Road axis of Abuja, has become a focal point of property disputes and criminal investigations.
At the heart of the matter is a 26-count charge brought by the Nigerian Police against Sam Jonah, alongside fellow Ghanaians Kojo Ansah and Victor Quainoo, as well as an Abuja-based legal practitioner Abu Arome, and Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd.
The accused are scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Modupe-Osho Adebiyi of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
According to documents marked CR/402/2025, filed by prosecutors at the Force Headquarters Legal and Prosecution Section, the defendants allegedly conspired to forge company documents and manipulate records with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in order to assume unlawful control over Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd and Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd, companies associated with the estate project.
Among the most damning accusations are that the accused persons: forged board resolutions to illegally increase company share capital, allocated 99 million shares to themselves without lawful authority, misrepresented their nationality and citizenship status to Nigerian authorities and falsified resignation letters and forged the signature of John Townley Johnson on official documents, including a fake letter of relinquishment of eight million shares.
Police say these manipulations allowed the accused to illegally assume control over the land and its associated real estate value, with implications running into billions of naira.
Key evidence cited in the case includes: Fraudulent board resolutions dated September 9, 2013, and August 20, 2020, forged CAC status reports for both companies, tampered share registers and forensic analysis reports from Key Forensics Ltd., alongside expert findings from internal police analysts.
Obasanjo’s denial further distances the former president from the murky dealings surrounding the River Park Estate. While Nigeria has seen its fair share of land-related disputes, the invocation of a former head of state’s name adds significant political weight and public interest to the saga.
“At no time did I allocate land to Sam Jonah, nor did I invite him for such purposes during or after my presidency,” Obasanjo reiterated in his letter to the IGP.
The River Park dispute is emblematic of a growing number of land racketeering and real estate fraud cases across Nigeria, especially in the capital city.
As Abuja’s property market continues to expand rapidly, so too do incidents of land grabbing, identity fraud, and fake land titles, often carried out in collusion with compromised insiders.
An insider familiar with the case told News Point Nigeria that the high-profile international investors are often drawn into legal quagmires due to opaque business practices and weak regulatory enforcement in Nigeria’s real estate sector.
‘This case, however, involving a respected former president, multiple foreign nationals, and a top Abuja legal practitioner, may set a precedent for how such matters are pursued going forward’, the source said.
The arraignment is expected to draw considerable public attention when court proceedings begin. The Nigerian Police, bolstered by forensic and documentary evidence, appear determined to pursue full prosecution.
Meanwhile, Obasanjo’s response not only clears his name from what he describes as a “false and injurious” claim but also highlights the importance of verifying high-level claims before attaching them to national figures.