The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the Nigerian Police, and other respondents not to harass, arrest, or obstruct some Ghanaian businessmen who filed a suit alleging violations of their fundamental human rights in a dispute at the River Park Estate in Abuja.

The court issued the ruling yesterday in the legal action filed under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1130/2025. The suit was initiated by directors of Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited and their Ghanaian partners under the investment consortium Houses for Africa.

The case involves Ghanaian businessman Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Kojo Ansah Mensah, Victor Quainoo, and their legal counsel, Abu Arome. Also named as defendants in the suit are the FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Saka Adewale; the Head of the IGP Monitoring Unit, DCP Akin Fakorede; EFCC Zonal Commander Michael Wetkas; EFCC investigator Eunice Vou Dalyop; and one Kabiru Baba.

The plaintiffs are demanding N200 million in exemplary damages, citing repeated instances of harassment, arbitrary arrests, and the abuse of state power by senior law enforcement officials. They claim these actions are tied to a contested ownership dispute over portions of River Park Estate, an upscale residential development in Abuja.

The court issued “an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves or by their servants, officers, agents, or privies or otherwise howsoever called, from further inviting, intimidating, harassing, arresting, or detaining the plaintiffs, their privies, agents, and officers, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed before this Honourable Court.

“An order of interim injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves or by their servants, officers, agents, or privies or otherwise howsoever called, from interfering with, obstructing, or restricting the plaintiffs, their staff and employees, customers, or agents from access, use, and the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of the applicant’s property, to wit – Plot No 4, Cadastral Zone E30, Lugbe West, otherwise known as River Park Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed before this Honourable Court.”

At the centre of the dispute is an earlier investigation launched by the Inspector-General of Police through a Special Investigation Panel (SIP) led by DCP Usman Ahmed Imam, following multiple petitions. The panel reportedly completed its investigation and submitted its findings to the IGP, who then directed the CP (Legal) to review the report for any criminal elements.

However, court documents allege that the police have refused to make the report public or act on its recommendations. Instead, the plaintiffs claim that the Head of the IGP Monitoring Unit, DCP Akin Fakorede—formerly linked to the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)—initiated a new investigation, which they believe is aimed at overriding or suppressing the findings of the SIP.

The Ghanaian investors allege that they have faced ongoing intimidation, including repeated police invitations under duress, surveillance, and, in some instances, physical manhandling.
Photo: Court