FCID Purported Re-investigation of A Matter Before Court Unlawful, An Affront To Judiciary

BY AKINWOLE OPEYEMI

In an attempt to hoodwink the public and distort facts about the clear case of land grabbing, one Imoleayo Oyedeyi, obviously recruited for this purpose used the Punch of August 23, 2025 to publish a claim of contradictions in a thorough investigation carried out by the Special Enquiry Bureau (SEB) of the Force CID that gave rise to the five-count charge marked LD/23611C/2024 against Ademola Owolabi, Adebayo Akeju and Alex Ochonogor before Justice Serifat Sonaike of the Lagos High Court. 

Desperate to pervert justice and extricate themselves by all means, the defendants, two of whom are lawyers, had even before their arraignment on June 16, 2025 been running from pillar to post, including an attempt to use the office of the State Attorney General to stop their arraignment through a fallacious petition.

When that failed, the AG having been seised of the facts and circumstances of the case, they moved on to instigate a fresh investigation of a matter already before a court of competent jurisdiction, sponsoring jaundiced publications to claim that they have been exonerated and now, alleging contradictions following the afterthought report of the General Investigation Section (GIS) of the FCID, Alagbon, dated June 13, 2025, and signed by Muhammed Dahiru, a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

The defendants refused to appear in court to take their plea the moment the charge was filed, advancing all manner of excuses to avoid arraignment (buying time), while hoping to get a favourable re-investigated police report by the GIS of the FCID, Alagbon. They even attempted to present the procured report in court during their arraignment three days after it was released, but were rejected.

Oyedeyi in his “clever” attempt to mislead the public by claiming that there is ownership dispute in the matter, said: “…contradictory findings on a disputed ownership of a Lekki property linked to Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd.), the former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.”

The truth of the matter is that only Major Al-Mustapha was the allottee of the said property and there is no contention whatsoever about this. He voluntarily sold the property to Continental Properties Limited, which also transferred ownership to USP Limited. USP Limited then sold it to Dr. Eze Obidigwe, the current owner in May 12, 2005. Obidigwe built a bungalow there and has been in peaceful possession for 10 years before it was demolished by rabid land grabbers.

After the demolition, the two lawyers used the name of the same Al-Mustapha, who had since sold the property, to purportedly sell it to Ochonogor.

Al-Mustapha, whom they claimed instructed them to sell, and allegedly signed Memorandum of Loss (MOL) of the original Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), had consistently denied giving such instructions and making any publication for loss of C of O.

So, how can a lawyer insist that a purported client owns a property when the same client is consistently denying ownership? Is it possible for Al-Mustapha to own the property, instruct them to sell and later deny that he doesn’t own it again, having transferred ownership to another entity earlier? These lawyers want to force Al-Mustapha to admit that he owns what he had long sold, so as to justify their desperation to grab the land and dispose of it for their personal benefits.

In any case, the defendants wrote a petition to the Police, seeking re-investigation of the matter on the grounds of “shoddy investigation and lack of due diligence”. As lawyers, shouldn’t it be a thing of joy for them to leverage on the “shoddy” nature of the investigation report to answer to the charges with the view of quashing them at the court instead of seeking fresh exonerating findings? One expected the defendants to gladly use the loopholes in the “compromised and shoddy” report to defend themselves in court and get themselves discharged and acquitted, but they can’t take that route. Their preference is to use extra-judicial means to hoodwink and deceive the public, including powerful interests to let them off the hook.

To be clear, the GIS investigation report confirmed Al-Mustapha had earlier sold the property when they interrogated the two respective companies that bought it, yet it turned blind eyes to Ochonogor’s purported transaction on the same property and could not even indict his lawyer- Owolabi for lack of due diligence before the alleged purchase.

Again, the 2009 Punch publication of the Lagos State government information on demolition of illegal shanties or structures can not affect a bungalow that was evidently built in 2014. Therefore, their claim that the demolition was done by Lagos State on the basis of that publication is false. Worse still, there was a court order in 2016 stopping further actions by all parties on the property, yet construction continued till completion by Ochonogor without any appeal court order setting aside the earlier high court order. The GIS investigators overlooked that fact, but gave a report purportedly clearing them of wrongdoings.

The GIS investigators never confirmed the genuineness of the Demolition Notice from the Lagos State Ministry of Lands, which was the alleged issuer, but only relied on the statements of the defendants and their procured witness. The GIS investigators did not confirm the genuineness of the Memorandum of Loss and Affidavit of Loss of Original Documents from the Ministry of Justice before forming an opinion to clear the defendants of forgery charges.

In addition, the GIS investigators during their investigation did not invite witnesses critical to the case who include, Dr Obidigwe (the current owner of the property, who still has all the original title documents in his possession till date), Major Al-Mustapha, (the original allottee of the said property and whose signature was alleged to have been forged by Dr Obidigwe, according to GIS report), Alhaji Sherrif Danmole (who Akeju alleged to have handled the MOL and Affidavit of Loss of Original documents), Mr. Olanrewaju (whose company gave out offer of sale of the said property on behalf of Major Al-Mustapha) and Edward Obanor (who constructed the demolished bungalow on behalf of Dr Obidigwe to determine when it was built and the status before demolition).

What manner of investigation did the GIS investigators carried out when they only interrogated the defendants throughout their investigation to arrive at their conclusions to clear them of the offences they are already being tried in court? For crying out loud, the matter is already before the court. This is a clear case of washing ones anus before defecating. It should be the other way round.

In their bid to arrive at a pre-determined conclusion, the GIS investigators did not secure a single documentary evidence to contradict SEB’s findings in the initial investigation, yet they gave a report exonerating the defendants, making them witnesses instead.

Akeju, the mastermind of the sale, has never produced any document from Major Al-Mustapha authorising him to sell the property as required by Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), known by even undergraduate law students that clients instructions must be reduced into writing. See Rule 18 (2) of the RPC, 2023.

The GIS investigators never bothered to ask Akeju to produce the Authority to sell the property given to him by Major Al-Mustapha, but they were fully privy to the protest letter written by Major Al-Mustapha accusing Akeju of single-handedly selling the property without his consent. Yet Akeju was cleared by GIS investigators (evidence of a fraudulent investigation to procure a fraudulent police report and GIS investigators merely offered themselves as a clearing house for such fraudulent and disgraceful tasks).

Assuming without conceding that Akeju had the instructions of Al-Mustapha to search for his lands in Lagos, Akeju had not produced evidence of finding any other land except that of Dr Obidigwe. He claimed that Al-Mustapha briefed him while in prison to find out his properties, but he has never shown that that instruction included selling any of them so found.

In addition, Akeju has been making unsubstantiated claims that the Chief Justice of Nigeria is his cousin and that Attorney General of Lagos, Lawal Pedro is working to free him. These statements appear designed to intimidate and create the impression that he enjoys untouchable protection at the highest levels of the judiciary.

In furtherance of this conspiracy, they have unconstitutionally procured a police report without any proper investigation, seemingly to create a basis for the withdrawal of the criminal case already before the court. This action undermines due process and reflects an abuse of the justice system.

Mr Akeju is using the above privileges accorded to him by the mention of the highest powers in the judicial system to deploy the police as an instrument of the state in intimidating, harassing and threatening witnesses both in the civil and criminal proceedings before a competent court.

This intimidation effort is headed by SP Giwa Abdulahi along with Inspector Suleman Umar, ASP Hamza Mai-Akwai, DSP Omotosho Ayo-Oladapo and CSP Olatunbosun Olawale and to think that any of them will hide under the cloak of law enforcement to violate the law with impunity and undermine the justice, is a pipe-dream. The law will eventually take its course!

–Opeyemi is the Media and Communications aide to Dr Obidigwe