Renowned Ghanaian business magnate Sir Sam Jonah has taken a long standing corporate dispute in Nigeria beyond the courtroom, formally appealing to Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to intervene over what he describes as the unlawful takeover of his investments by Nigerian state authorities.
In an 11-page petition dated December 13, 2025, titled Concise Summary, Sir Jonah accuses Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission of using extraordinary administrative measures to strip his companies of their legal existence and effectively expropriate his interests in a multi-million dollar real estate development in Abuja, despite ongoing court proceedings.
The petition calls on the Government of Ghana to escalate the matter through diplomatic channels, engage Nigerian authorities at the highest level, notify ECOWAS institutions of possible violations of regional investment protection obligations, and demand an immediate reversal of the actions taken by the Nigerian regulator.
By doing so, Sir Jonah has elevated what began as a private commercial disagreement into a broader regional test of cross border investment protection and the rule of law in West Africa.
At the heart of the dispute is River Park Estate, a major real estate project in Abuja in which Sir Jonah’s firms, JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd, hold controlling stakes. According to the petition, the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, cancelled all corporate records of the two companies on December 8, 2025, even though the Commission had been served with a court injunction barring such action.
Sir Jonah says the decision came as a shock, noting that the cancellation erased the companies’ legal standing, diluted their effective shareholding and left them unable to defend themselves in pending litigation. He argues that the move represents a grave abuse of administrative power and raises troubling questions about due process, respect for court orders and investor protection in Nigeria.
The petition further alleges that the Commission relied on a disputed police report authored by Deputy Commissioner of Police Akin Fakorede to justify its actions. Sir Jonah maintains that the report contradicts the findings of a 10 member Special Investigation Panel previously established to probe allegations of document forgery linked to the project. According to him, the panel found no basis for the criminal claims later used to impose regulatory sanctions.
He argues that privileging a single police report over broader investigative findings and subsisting court orders undermines the integrity of the regulatory process and suggests that criminal allegations were weaponised to resolve what is essentially a commercial dispute in favour of local interests.
Tracing the history of the investment, the petition notes that JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd was incorporated in 2006, followed by a development lease agreement in 2007 with Nigeria’s Federal Capital Development Authority for the River Park Estate. Subsequent restructuring, he says, left his companies as the principal stakeholders in the project.
Sir Jonah contends that the crisis began when he demanded accountability from a local Nigerian agent, Paul Odili of Paulo Homes Ltd, over alleged land encroachment within the estate. He claims this triggered a campaign of misrepresentation, illegal land sales, false ownership claims and the filing of criminal complaints designed to wrest control of the project from his companies.
A central concern raised in the petition is the risk of asset dissipation. Sir Jonah warns that by cancelling his companies’ records, the Corporate Affairs Commission has created an environment in which estate assets could be sold, transferred or encumbered without the rightful owners having the legal capacity to challenge such actions. He cautions that the precedent poses serious dangers not only to his investments but to other foreign and regional investors operating in Nigeria.
By turning to Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Sir Jonah is effectively asking the Ghanaian state to step in where private legal remedies have allegedly failed. He urges Ghana to engage Nigeria through bilateral channels, invoke ECOWAS investment protection mechanisms and assert its duty to protect Ghanaian nationals and their assets abroad.
The case carries wider significance given Nigeria’s position as one of Ghana’s largest trading partners and a key destination for Ghanaian businesses expanding within the sub region. Beyond the personal interests involved, the petition raises fundamental concerns about regulatory certainty, respect for judicial authority and the credibility of investor protection regimes in West Africa.
As Ghana considers its response, the dispute now stands as a critical test of the region’s commitment to rule based commerce and the protection of cross border investments.