A media analyst, Ujah David Abakpa, has called on members of the Abacha family and the developer involved in the redevelopment of their property at No. 68, Molade Okoya Thomas Street, off Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, to respect the ongoing judicial process and return to arbitration as the most appropriate route for resolving their dispute.
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Abakpa, in a statement on the controversy, said he had followed what he described as the increasingly contentious civil dispute arising from a Joint Venture Agreement between members of the Abacha family and the developer over the prime Victoria Island property.
According to him, the joint venture arrangement was entered into in 2021, while the developer moved to site in 2022. He said the project encountered difficulties from the outset because the property allegedly carried a number of liabilities and encumbrances.
Abakpa said these included accumulated land use charges owed to the Lagos State Government and the presence of sitting tenants who resisted efforts to recover possession of the property.
He claimed that the developer subsequently took responsibility for clearing the outstanding liabilities, including taxes allegedly owed by Mrs Mariam Abacha, while also bearing the cost of securing vacant possession of the property.
According to him, those expenses were treated as part of the developer’s additional investment in the project.
Abakpa further said the property had remained on the market for about five years before the joint venture arrangement was concluded, adding that the landowners allegedly demanded and received a premium of ₦100 million as part of the terms for concluding the agreement.
He also alleged that, despite the commencement of construction by the joint venture partner, the property was subsequently marketed to Zenith Bank and that the Certificate of Occupancy was later reported missing.
According to him, the development led members of the family to grant the developer a power of attorney, but he alleged that efforts to register the instrument at the Lagos State Land Bureau were later obstructed.
“All these intrigues were documented,” Abakpa said.
He stated that the land was valued at approximately ₦400 million when the joint venture was entered into, representing the landowners’ contribution to the project.
Since then, he said his findings indicated that the developer had invested more than ₦17 billion in the development, with the sharp increase partly attributable to changes in construction and operating costs following the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023.
Abakpa further claimed that, based on current projections, the landowners’ interest in the completed development could be worth about ₦9 billion in potential earnings.
The media analyst acknowledged that the dispute was already before a competent court and noted that arbitration had been recommended as a means of resolving the disagreement.
He, however, raised concerns over an ex parte order which, according to him, resulted in the appointment of a receiver/manager over the development.
“Respectfully, I believe the order was made on an incomplete picture and should be set aside,” he said.
Abakpa argued that applications for ex parte relief required full and frank disclosure of material facts to the court, contending that any failure to disclose relevant facts could raise questions about the propriety of the process.
He also alleged that earlier attempts to stop work at the property through the involvement of security agencies were found to have no legal basis.
Abakpa expressed concern over what he described as increasing publicity surrounding the ex parte order, saying he intended to address the matter further in the coming week.
He nevertheless urged all sides to avoid actions capable of worsening the dispute and to allow the legal and arbitral processes to take their course.
For him, returning to arbitration would provide an opportunity for the parties to resolve their differences while preserving the considerable investment already made in the property.
He maintained that the project had reached a stage where the interests of both the developer and the landowners would be better served by a negotiated and legally structured resolution rather than prolonged confrontation.
Abakpa therefore called on the parties to respect the court process, return to arbitration and protect what he described as an investment already capable of generating substantial value for everyone involved.
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