Sir Sam Jonah petitions Foreign Minister over alleged unlawful seizure of investments in Nigeria
Renowned Ghanaian businessman Sir Sam Jonah has formally petitioned the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, seeking urgent diplomatic intervention over what he describes as the unlawful seizure of his investments in Nigeria by that country’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
In an 11-page document titled “Concise Summary,” dated December 13, 2025, Sir Jonah outlines a complex and protracted dispute surrounding the River Park Estate in Abuja, accusing Nigerian authorities of expropriating his shares, undermining judicial authority, and placing millions of dollars in Ghanaian-led investments at risk.
The petition urges the Government of Ghana to engage Nigerian authorities at the highest diplomatic level, alert ECOWAS to possible breaches of regional investment protection frameworks, and demand the immediate reversal of the CAC’s actions.
Sir Jonah argues that the matter has escalated beyond a private commercial dispute into an issue requiring state-to-state engagement.
According to the petition, the crisis originated from Sir Jonah’s demand for accountability from a local Nigerian agent, Paul Odili of Paulo Homes Ltd, over alleged land encroachment and unauthorised sales within the River Park Estate.
What began as a corporate governance issue reportedly escalated into multiple legal battles, contradictory police reports, and administrative actions that Sir Jonah describes as unlawful.
Central to the dispute is the conduct of the Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), who is accused of cancelling all corporate filings of JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses For Africa Nigeria Ltd on December 8, 2025, despite being served with a valid court injunction restraining such action.
“To our utter shock, on Monday, 8th December 2025, upon checking the company status report, we discovered that the entire corporate records of our companies had been cancelled by Mr. Magaji SAN,” Sir Jonah stated.
He contends that the CAC’s action unlawfully altered his shareholding structure and relied on a disputed police report authored by DCP Akin Fakorede, which allegedly contradicts the findings of a 10-member Special Investigation Panel (SIP) that had earlier cleared him of document forgery allegations.
Sir Jonah’s petition traces the history of his Nigerian investments back to 2006, including the incorporation of JonahCapital, a 2007 Development Lease with the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), and subsequent share restructurings that left his entities as the dominant stakeholders.
He alleges that local agents initially engaged to secure permits later misrepresented themselves as owners, sold estate lands illegally, and weaponised criminal allegations to gain leverage.
The petition warns that the CAC’s decision has rendered the affected companies legally incapacitated, exposing the assets to dissipation and severely undermining their ability to defend ongoing court cases.
Sir Jonah is now appealing to Ghana’s Foreign Ministry to act swiftly to safeguard the rights of Ghanaian investors operating in Nigeria, describing the situation as a test case for the protection of cross-border investments within the ECOWAS sub-region, where Ghanaian businesses continue to play a significant economic role.
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