The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, has been petitioned by two Abuja-based firms, the Jonah Capital Limited and Houses for Africa Limited, to probe the excesses of the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN.

Petitioning on behalf of the two firms, Ghanaian investor, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, KBE, asked the Nigerian trade minister to investigate the “unlawful expropriation of shares, extrajudicial removal of directors and retrospective invalidation of corporate filings” by the CAC Registrar-General, Magaji.

In the petition dated 8 December 2025, Jonah accused the CAC Registrar-General of unilaterally reversing nearly two decades of corporate records relating to JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd.

He noted that these actions have destabilised ownership, management, and ongoing litigation surrounding the companies.

According to the petition, the CAC Registrar-General allegedly “reverted the status of the Company back to incorporation, which is 2006 in the case of JonahCapital and 2007 in the case of Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd,” despite the fact that only “three (3) filings were in contention” and those filings are already before the Federal High Court.

The business investor stressed that the Registrar-General was fully aware of the pending court actions, stating that CAC had been “duly served with the Originating Processes and Motion for Interlocutory Injunction weeks before the administrative actions complained of were taken.”

In strongly worded language, Jonah argued that the actions of the CAC amount to a constitutional breach.

“The law is settled that issues revolving around corporate governance and disputes arising from it fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court pursuant to Section 251(1)(e) of the 1999 Constitution,” he wrote, adding that “judicial powers are vested in the Courts to determine disputes between persons and authorities.”

He further accused the Registrar-General of overstepping his authority by “inviting disputing parties, unilaterally cancelling filings, altering directorship records and expropriating shareholdings,” actions which he said “constitute the exercise of judicial powers that the Constitution exclusively vests in the Courts.”

Jonah noted that Magaji, being a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, ought to have known better. “Once a party is served with an application for injunction, that party must maintain status quo and refrain from taking any step capable of foisting a fait accompli on the Court,” the petition stated.

The petition warned of severe commercial consequences arising from the CAC’s actions, particularly concerning investments linked to River Park Estate.

Jonah said the administrative decisions could lead to “potential economic losses of an unprecedented scale,” disrupt banking relationships, and weaken the companies’ legal standing in ongoing lawsuits.

“In the pending civil matters… my companies may now be incapable of defending itself due to the Registrar-General’s actions,” he wrote, warning that the adverse party in the dispute could be “artificially positioned as both Plaintiff and Defendant.”

He also claimed the CAC’s decision effectively handed “administrative victory to one side of a dispute that is already before the Court.”

Jonah highlighted what he described as regulatory inconsistency, noting that in 2023, the CAC directed companies with foreign participation to raise their share capital to ₦100 million, a directive his companies promptly complied with.

“By cancelling filings dating back to almost two (2) decades, the companies have now been placed in automatic default of CAC’s own requirement,” he said, adding that the companies are now exposed to “penalties and operational disruption.”

The petition also raised concerns about staff welfare, warning that the actions of the CAC “expose our staff (local and foreign) to the risk of wrongful termination by the individuals whom Mr. Magaji has now purportedly installed as the management of the companies.”

Jonah therefore urged the Minister to intervene decisively.
“I respectfully urge you to use your good and esteemed office to direct the Registrar-General to immediately reverse the administrative action purporting to restore the Company’s status retroactively to the date of incorporation,” he appealed.

SaharaReporters earlier on Saturday reported that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, intervened in the River Park Estate crisis in Abuja, ordering the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to temporarily suspend corporate actions relating to the companies involved, pending a full review of police investigation files.

SaharaReporters had learnt that the CAC Registrar-General, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, however, allegedly defied the directive in a letter dated 24 September 2025 and signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, B. E. Jedy-Agba (Mrs).

Jedy-Agba had said, “The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is currently reviewing the case file received from the Nigeria Police Force concerning allegations of forgery and fraudulent activities as it pertains to Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited.”

The letter, stamped received on 25 September 2025, formally requests that CAC “place a caveat to preserve the records of Jonah Capital Nigeria Limited (RC:669754) and Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited (RC:729760)” to ensure that no further corporate actions are taken while the Attorney-General completes his review and provides legal advice.

The directive comes amid intense legal and criminal proceedings tied to allegations of corporate fraud and forgery related to the development and ownership of River Park Estate, Lugbe, Abuja.

Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory High Court had also ordered all parties in the case to maintain the status quo on the disputed land, effectively halting development and transactions on the property while proceedings continue. 

SaharaReporters earlier reported that the
House of Representatives formally received a petition to investigate the unlawful tampering with the corporate records of Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd by the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN.

The petition was written on behalf of the two companies, Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd In which the CAC registrar allegedly altered some corporate records to favour a contending party.

The petition had been presented to the House of Representatives by Hon Muktar Tolani Shagaya from the Ilorin West Federal Constituency of Kwara State.

Speaking during the plenary presided over by Hon Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Shagaya had said, “Mr Speaker, I rise this morning to lay a petition before this Honourable House, signed by Kojo Mensah Ansah.

“The petition is on the unlawful expropriation of shares, extrajudicial removal of directors, and retrospective invalidation of corporate filings of Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd. and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd. by the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Mr Hussaini Magaji, SAN. I seek the leave of the House to lay this petition.”

The Speaker then replied, “Honourable Shagaya, the leave is hereby granted, you may now lay the petition.”

In an official statement on Saturday, the CAC claimed that it never illegally tampered with the records of any company.

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the long-running ownership dispute surrounding Abuja’s multi-billion-naira River Park Estate escalated into a full-blown corporate and regulatory crisis.

This followed allegations that the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ishaq Magaji Hussaini (SAN), illegally expropriated shares of JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd and reassigned them to rival claimants in the land ownership dispute.

Last Saturday, The House of Representatives has formally received a petition to investigate the unlawful tampering with the
corporate records of Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd by the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN.

The petition was written on behalf of the two companies, Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd In which the CAC registrar allegedly altered some corporate records to favour a contending party.

The petition was presented to the House of Representatives by Hon Muktar Tolani Shagaya from the Ilorin West Federal Constituency of Kwara State.

Speaking during the plenary presided over by Hon Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Shagaya said, “Mr Speaker, I rise this morning to lay a petition before this Honourable House, signed by Kojo Mensah Ansah.

“The petition is on the unlawful expropriation of shares, extrajudicial removal of directors, and retrospective invalidation of corporate filings of Jonah Capital Nigeria Ltd. and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd. by the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Mr Hussaini Magaji, SAN. I seek the leave of the House to lay this petition.”

The Speaker then replied, “Honourable Shagaya, the leave is hereby granted, you may now lay the petition.”

SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the long-running ownership dispute surrounding Abuja’s multi-billion-naira River Park Estate escalated into a full-blown corporate and regulatory crisis.

This followed allegations that the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ishaq Magaji Hussaini (SAN), illegally expropriated shares of JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd and reassigned them to rival claimants in the land ownership dispute.

In a strongly worded statement issued by Kojo Ansah Mensah, CEO of JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and one of the Ghanaian investors in the estate, he noted that on December 8, 2025, the Registrar-General “unlawfully altered” the ownership structure of both companies.

The registrar did this despite a court action and a standing directive from the Attorney-General’s office instructing the CAC to halt any such changes pending investigation.

CAC Accused of Ignoring Court Order, AGF Directive

According to Mensah, the Attorney-General, through the Solicitor-General, had on September 24, 2025 directed the CAC to place a caveat on the company’s records until the office of the AGF’s review of the forgery allegation made against investors Sir Samuel Jonah KBE, Kojo Mensah, Victor Quainoo and their Nigerian lawyer Abu Arome Esq.

Mensah said that despite being served with court Originating summons, several weeks before December 8, the Registrar-General went ahead to effect the controversial changes.

He also alleged that at a meeting held on December 1, 2025, in the presence of representatives of the adverse parties and the Attorney-General’s office, the Ghanaian investors’ lawyers informed Mr. Magaji that the matter was sub judice.

The Registrar-General later claimed in a letter to the AGF that the investors “failed to appear,” an assertion Mensah described as “bizarre and false.”

Following the changes, Mensah said individuals “newly coronated” as directors —Olakitan Ogunmuyiwa and Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa — immediately notified banks, including Zenith Bank, to close the companies’ accounts, and wrote to the Minister of the FCT announcing a purported takeover.

“These hurried actions are designed to disrupt the operations of the company,” Mensah stated.

The Ghanaian investors have since petitioned the National Assembly, whose plenary reportedly adopted their motion on December 11, 2025, as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation, describing the CAC’s actions as a dangerous precedent that could enable “hostile takeover of foreign-owned companies by government officials.”

In a recent development, SaharaReporters had reported that the Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd, one of the companies at the centre of the crisis, issued a detailed rebuttal disowning Dr. Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa, who had recently claimed to speak on behalf of the company.

In a statement dated October 11, 2025, and signed by its company secretary, the firm had described Ogunmuyiwa’s claims as “false, misleading, and malicious,” insisting he ceased to be a shareholder or director years ago.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the directors of Houses for Africa Nigeria on CAC records are Kojo Ansah Mensah, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Victor Quainoo, and Jonah Nathaniel,” the company stated.

“Any other individual claiming directorship is doing so fraudulently.”

The company had said Ogunmuyiwa entered the firm through JonahCapital in the 2000s but voluntarily relinquished his 20% shares under a 2012 Heads of Agreement, affirmed by a 2013 Special Resolution, and later formalised through a 2017 resignation letter.

As part of his exit, he was granted development rights over 94.8 hectares of River Park land and another 45 hectares for creditor settlements, but allegedly failed to settle creditors, exposing the company to litigation.

Houses for Africa added that Ogunmuyiwa and associate Paul Odili repeatedly evaded media requests for evidence backing their claims, “citing personal health issues,” a move the company described as strategic evasiveness.

The firm also distanced itself from a lawsuit purportedly filed on its behalf by Chief Anthony Aikunegbe Malik, SAN, challenging the FCT Ministerial Committee.

“For the record, neither the Board nor legitimate directors have authorised any such legal action,” it stated, challenging the lawyer to produce evidence of fees paid from the company’s accounts and warning that acceptance of third-party payments could violate anti-money laundering regulations.

The company further emphasized that Kojo Mensah has been the sole signatory to corporate accounts in Zenith Bank, UBA and Wema Bank since 2014, providing payroll, tax, pension, and vendor payment records as evidence.

The controversy intensified after Ogunmuyiwa circulated a statement accusing Mensah of impersonation and fraud in relation to River Park Estate—claims now countered by extensive documentation from Houses for Africa.

With the CAC’s controversial intervention, rival directorship claims, conflicting lawsuits, and allegations of forgery and corporate sabotage on all sides, analysts warn that the River Park dispute has become one of Nigeria’s most complex corporate governance battles.

Industry observers say the CAC’s actions—if not reversed or clarified—risk undermining investor confidence and fuelling perceptions of politically enabled corporate takeovers.