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Amid the ongoing legal tussle over the ownership and development rights of the River Park Estate in Abuja, indications have emerged that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, may not have maintained the neutrality and impartiality he publicly claims.
The minister’s repeated and unguarded public pronouncements on the ownership of the estate, despite the matter being under active litigation, have raised serious concerns about his role as an unbiased arbiter in a dispute that is now firmly before the courts.
On September 18, 2025, Minister Wike, speaking live on national television, declared that the Ghanaian businessman, Sir Sam Esson Jonah, was the owner and controller of JonahCapital Nigeria Limited (JCNL), the company holding the development rights to the 500-hectare River Park Estate in Abuja.
However, the minister’s assertion stands in stark contradiction to official records and findings by several Nigerian institutions, including the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigeria Police Force under the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), and even a ministerial committee constituted by Wike himself.
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The CAC and the Facts on Record
On December 9, 2025, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, formally confirmed that Dr. Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa and his wife are the majority shareholders in JCNL, jointly holding 60 per cent of the company’s shares, and are its only directors. Sir Sam Jonah, according to the CAC, holds a 40 per cent minority stake and is not a member of the company’s board.
These findings directly contradict Minister Wike’s televised claim that Jonah is the sole owner and controlling mind of JCNL and, by extension, River Park Estate.
Notably, this position was not new. On September 2, 2025, the FCT Ministerial Committee established by Wike in response to a petition written by Jonah’s lawyer, Sunday I. Ameh, SAN, presented the same shareholding structure to the minister. That presentation, which was filmed and made publicly available, clearly affirmed Nigerian majority ownership of the company.
Despite the clear advice and findings of his own committee, Minister Wike proceeded days later to publicly endorse a narrative that effectively erased the interests of the Nigerian majority shareholders.
Termination of Development Rights and Court Intervention
The controversy deepened in September 2025 when the FCT administration announced the immediate termination of an 18-year Development Lease Agreement entered into between Dr. Ogunmuyiwa and a former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. The minister further directed that up to 20 per cent of undeveloped or partially developed land within the estate be reverted to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
This decision was swiftly followed by a demolition exercise at River Park Estate, reportedly carried out without notice and affecting dozens of structures, including a cancer care hospital under construction. The exercise was halted only after judicial intervention.
In the course of a judicial review, Justice Mohammed Zubairu of the High Court ordered all parties to maintain the status quo and explicitly warned against “self-help” while the legality of the committee’s actions is being examined. The matter is adjourned to January 2026 for further hearing.
Disregarding Police Findings
Minister Wike’s public posture also conflicts with findings by the Nigeria Police Force. In September 2024, Sir Sam Jonah had petitioned the IGP, alleging land grabbing and harassment by developers at River Park Estate. The IGP directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Akin Fakorede, head of IGP Monitoring and a forensic specialist, to investigate the claims.
DCP Fakorede’s report reportedly found that documents submitted by Jonah and his associates were forged and that attempts were made to manipulate CAC records, including misrepresentations relating to nationality—an issue with serious legal implications under the Land Use Act, which restricts foreign ownership of extensive land holdings.
Following the investigation, criminal charges were filed against Jonah and his associates. The police report was also presented to the ministerial committee. Minister Wike, however, publicly rejected the report and launched a televised attack on DCP Fakorede, questioning his character and credibility based on unrelated past grievances from his time as governor of Rivers State.
This conduct has raised legitimate concerns about whether personal animosity, rather than evidence and due process, informed the minister’s dismissal of an official police investigation.
Conflicts, Relationships and Motivations
Further questions arise from the minister’s professional proximity to Sunday I. Ameh, SAN, the lawyer who authored Jonah’s petition. Ameh has acknowledged working intermittently with the FCDA, although he denies any conflict of interest. Even if technically defensible, the optics are troubling in a dispute that demands the highest degree of institutional neutrality.
Beyond personal relationships and past grievances, another possible motivation has been suggested: the recovery of undeveloped land for the FCT. The termination of the development agreement conveniently positioned the FCT to reclaim up to 20 per cent, or about 100 hectares, of River Park Estate—an outcome with significant fiscal and political implications.
A Question of Institutional Integrity
Taken together, these developments present a troubling picture: public statements that contradict official records; disregard for the findings of the minister’s own committee; rejection of police investigations; and executive actions now under active judicial review.
For a minister who is also a trained lawyer, these actions raise a fundamental question: is the FCT Minister acting as an impartial umpire, or as an interested party in the River Park Estate dispute?
That question is now squarely before the courts. Until the judicial review by Justice Zubairu is concluded, restraint would best serve not only the parties involved but also the credibility of Nigeria’s land administration system. In disputes of this magnitude, the appearance of bias can be as damaging as bias itself.
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