Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has cleared prominent Ghanaian investors of fraud allegations in Abuja’s River Park Estate dispute, discontinuing a 26-count police charge while directing the Corporate Affairs Commission to reverse controversial company filings that defied ongoing court orders.
The AGF’s ruling, conveyed in a December 30, 2025, correspondence signed by Director of Public Prosecutions M. B. Abubakar, targets filings on Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited. It followed a comprehensive review of Nigeria Police Force investigation files, including reports from the Inspector-General’s Monitoring Unit and an earlier Special Investigation Panel.
“There was no basis for criminal prosecution against Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Mr Kojo Ansah Mensah, Mr Victor Quainoo and Mr Abu Arome,” the DPPF stated on behalf of the AGF. “No prima facie case of forgery and other related offences as contained in Charge No: CR/402/25 has been established against the aforementioned individuals.”
This decision nullifies the 26-count charge announced by police, directly overturning findings from the IGP Monitoring Unit under CP Akin Fakorede, who accused the investors of criminal conduct in ownership and management of River Park Estate following press conferences on June 26 and 27, 2025.
The AGF went further, tackling what the Ministry of Justice flagged as administrative irregularities at the Corporate Affairs Commission. On December 8, 2025 despite subsisting court proceedings and formal notices from the AGF’s office CAC Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji authorised changes to the shareholding structures of both companies.
The AGF has now ordered Magaji to “restore the ownership and shareholding of the affected companies to the status quo ante their position before the disputed alterations,” effectively wiping out the December 8 filings and reasserting federal oversight of corporate records.
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Unresolved allegations of property destruction, criminal intimidation, and assault purportedly carried out by unnamed individuals at River Park Estate drew separate AGF scrutiny. Observing that these claims remained “not properly investigated,” Fagbemi directed the Nigeria Police Force to launch a thorough inquiry and submit a detailed report.
Police must also “ensure peace and security within River Park Estate and allow residents to enjoy their properties without harassment,” the directive states, prioritising stability in the upscale Abuja development.
River Park Estate’s turmoil mirrors decades of contentious property development in Nigeria’s capital, where overlapping claims and regulatory gaps have fuelled endless litigation since Abuja’s creation as Federal Capital Territory in 1976. The city’s master plan, drawn up by International Planning Associates, promised orderly growth but spawned a thicket of disputes over titles, allocations, and conversions—exacerbated by military-era land grabs and post-1999 democratic pressures.
Into this arena stepped Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, the celebrated Ghanaian mining executive whose Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited acquired stakes in River Park, a gleaming estate blending luxury residences and commercial spaces in Abuja’s Central District. Jonah’s Nigeria foray, backed by associates Kojo Ansah Mensah, Victor Quainoo, and Abu Arome, symbolised rare cross-border investment from West Africa’s business elite amid Nigeria’s push for foreign direct inflows.
Police entry via the Special Investigation Panel and IGP Monitoring Unit transformed a corporate tussle into alleged criminality, with forgery claims centring on company documents tied to estate control. The AGF’s rejection of these charges recalls similar high-level interventions, like the 2010s EFCC-AGF clashes over asset recoveries, highlighting the Justice Ministry’s nolle prosequi powers under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution.
Fagbemi’s dual directives to CAC and policeexpose fault lines in Nigeria’s institutional architecture. The commission’s filings despite AGF notices evoke past scandals, such as the 2010s CAC controversies over sham incorporations, prompting calls for tighter oversight under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020.
