JonahCapital  petitions EFCC over alleged $300m River Park Estate claim

The company, in separate petitions to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleged that the arbitration amounted to an attempt by individuals it described as foreign actors to fraudulently obtain more than $300 million from the Nigerian government.

JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, through Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa, its founder and Director,  said it had no connection with the claims being advanced before the ICC and insisted that neither Sam Jonah nor the Ghanaian individuals allegedly acting with him had the authority to institute proceedings in the name of the Nigerian company.

In the petition to Wike, which was acknowledged by the office of the FCT Minister, Ogunmuyiwa said there was an ongoing ownership dispute within JonahCapital Nigeria Limited, which, according to him, had resulted in several alterations to the company’s corporate records between 2024 and 2026.

“As the man who signed the Development Lease Agreement between JonahCapital Nigeria Limited/FCDA, I write this letter to bring to your attention the fact that there is indeed an ownership tussle within JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd,” he stated.

He alleged that Sam Jonah began presenting himself as a director of the company in February 2024, despite allegedly never having been appointed to that position.

Ogunmuyiwa further alleged that Jonah subsequently increased the company’s share capital from N1 million to N100 million and allocated N99 million worth of the increased shares to himself without the knowledge or consent of the company’s shareholders.

According to him, the actions formed part of what he described as an attempt to establish control over JonahCapital Nigeria Limited and use the company as a vehicle to pursue claims against the Nigerian government.

A major point of contention in the dispute is the claim reportedly being advanced before the ICC that JonahCapital Nigeria Limited invested more than $300 million in infrastructure for the River Park Estate project.

Ogunmuyiwa categorically rejected the claim, saying the Nigerian company had never provided infrastructure or funding for the development of the estate.

“This is a clear fraud as JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd as a company in all its existence never provided any infrastructure or funding towards the development of River Park Estate,” he stated.

He said the infrastructure for the estate was funded by Paulo Homes Limited under an agreement with the company.

“As the founding Director and shareholder of the company from its incorporation till date, I state categorically that the infrastructure in River Park Estate was funded by Paulo Homes Limited, whom we have that agreement with,” he added.

The company consequently urged the FCT Minister not to recognise any claim by what it described as the “purported JonahCapital Nigeria Limited” that it provided infrastructure for River Park Estate.

It also asked the minister to refer the matter to relevant law-enforcement agencies to prevent what it described as an internationally orchestrated attempt to defraud the Federal Government, particularly the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).

JonahCapital Nigeria Limited also disclosed that it had issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Ghanaian law firm of Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners (MPOBB), which it alleged was representing the individuals behind the disputed arbitration before the ICC.

The company said it had also taken steps to report what it described as the alleged fraud to relevant law-enforcement authorities for investigation.

In a separate petition received by the EFCC on August 11, 2026, JonahCapital Nigeria Limited asked the anti-graft agency to investigate what it described as “identity theft, impersonation and attempt to defraud the Government of Nigeria” through the alleged $300 million arbitration claim.

The petition, signed by the company’s lawyer, alleged a pattern of impersonation, false representations and attempts to unlawfully acquire economic interests connected to River Park Estate.

The company said the estate was being developed pursuant to a Development Lease Agreement involving JonahCapital Nigeria Limited and the Federal Capital Development Authority.

It therefore called on the EFCC to investigate Sam Jonah’s alleged claim that he invested $300 million in the River Park Estate project and compel him and anyone relying on the alleged investment to provide documentary evidence proving that the funds were actually brought into Nigeria and applied to the project.

Among the documents requested were Certificates of Capital Importation (CCI), bank statements, foreign inward remittance records, relevant Central Bank of Nigeria documentation, foreign exchange records, investment agreements, audited accounts, payment vouchers, evidence of payments to contractors and suppliers, and records allegedly showing expenditure on the acquisition, development or financing of the River Park project.

The company also urged the EFCC to investigate Sam Jonah, Kojo Mensah and other persons who may have participated in or facilitated the alleged transactions and to prosecute anyone found culpable.

JonahCapital Nigeria Limited also challenged the claim that Sam Jonah is an investor in Nigeria, insisting that he was in the country to represent a United States company, Houses for Africa Holding Inc.

The company alleged that Jonah’s failure to account for the finances of the US firm had resulted in an ongoing criminal investigation involving him and others over alleged money-laundering offences.

The company, however, did not provide details of the alleged investigation in the petition beyond its assertion that the matter was already before the EFCC.

It further urged the anti-graft agency to establish the nature of the relationship between Jonah and Kojo Mensah and determine their respective roles in the representations allegedly made to the ICC.

The company specifically asked the EFCC to examine documents and representations allegedly submitted in the arbitration and determine whether any were false, fabricated, misleading or designed to induce the tribunal to grant relief to persons who were allegedly not entitled to it.

JonahCapital Nigeria Limited argued that the matter went beyond a conventional commercial disagreement if individuals without legitimate proprietary interests in the River Park project were allegedly presenting a fictitious investment history before an international arbitral tribunal in an effort to secure an award with economic implications for a Nigerian government-linked project.

The company maintained that it had never invested or funded any aspect of River Park Estate.

“Jonahcapital Nigeria Limited did not invest or fund ‘ANYTHING’ in River Park Estate or in the River Park project,” it stated.

It further alleged that any contrary claim being advanced before the ICC was false and calculated to mislead the tribunal, secure undue financial benefits and ultimately expose the Federal Government of Nigeria to financial loss.

The company has consequently asked the FCT Minister and the EFCC to treat the matter as one requiring urgent investigation, particularly given the alleged $300 million value attached to the arbitration claim.