Business
Fraudulent Land Transaction: Diamond Bank in Legal Battle to Save Regional Office.
A Lagos High Court, sitting at Ikeja, south west Nigeria, has adjourned for ruling to decide either to stay the execution of its judgement or not in a case of illegal acquiring landed property of a deceased Lagos businessman by Diamond bank Plc.
The court adjourned for ruling after hearing the argument of the two parties, Diamond bank contended that been dissatisfied with the judgement of the court has lodged an appeal at the appellate court while the claimants are claiming that the claimants should relinquish the possession of the house while the appeal is on going.
The court presided over by Justice Atinuke Oluyemi in a judgement delivered sometimes last year barred Diamond Bank Plc and Ablag Company Nigeria Limited from trespassing on a landed property located at 105, St. Finbarrs Road, near CMS Grammar School, Bariga Lagos state.
In her judgment, Justice Oluyemi upheld the case of the claimants, saying that the purported purchase of the property between 2006 and 2007 by the bank was invalid.
The court also awarded a cost of N50,000 against bank and the company.
Justice Oluyemi affirmed that the property located on 105, St. Finbarrs’ road, Bariga, Lagos, covered by a Deed of Conveyance dated November 20, 1967, and registered as number 25, at page 25 in volume 1292 in the office of the Land Registry, Alausa, Lagos, was legally vested in the property owners’ deceased father, Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore.
“From the evidence before the court, I concur with the claimant’s final written address. The case of claimant succeeds. The property located on 105, St. Finbarrs’ road, Bariga, Lagos, covered by a Deed of Conveyance dated November 20, 1967, and registered as number 25, at page 25 in volume 1292 in the office of the Land Registry, Alausa, Lagos, is for the children of the deceased,” Justice Oluyemi said.
Diamond Bank Plc was dragged before the court by ten children of a deceased Lagos businessman Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore, for allegedly demolishing their family house and using the land to build its regional headquarters.
The court was urged to resolve the controversy that led to the whole transaction, as the bank in its statement of defence averred that they purchased the house from the deceased in 2007 and thereafter erected its own building. But the children of the deceased averred that it was not possible for their father who died at Lagos Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba in Lagos on 2 November, 1990 at the age of 80 years with a letter of confirmation of death from the same hospital to have sold his house to the bank in 2007,seventeen years after his death,thereby alleging fraud.
Consequently, in a bid to reclaim their inheritance from Diamond Bank Plc the family of the late Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore, commenced a legal battle before a High Court of Lagos, sitting at Ikeja, against the bank.
Joined as co-defendant in the suit is a limited liability company, Ablag Company Nigeria Limited, which was alleged to have served as vendor for the purchase of the property.
The deceased’s family of 10 among whom are Mrs. Rita Obhimon, Tony Eikore, Mrs. Veronica Afamah, Boniface Eikore, Miss Agnes Eikore, Augustine Eikore, Mrs. Philomena Adebowale, Mrs. Bose Isibor, Mrs. Ede Agbonhese, and Miss Lucy Eikore, in an amended statement of claim filed before the court by their lawyer, Barrister Jide Zaid, stated that the land and building was legally vested in their deceased father, the late Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore, who died intestate on November 2, 1990.The claimants also stated that upon the death of their father in 1990, they mutually allowed the eldest son in the family, John Osemeahon Eikore, to live in the property in order to protect the estate on their behalf and that the said John Eikore was living in the property since 1991, until sometime in December 2007, when one of them, Miss Lucy Eikore told them that the said property had been demolished and rebuilt by Diamond Bank as its Regional headquarters office.
After notifying the family members, they called on their eldest brother, John Eikore informing him of the alleged unlawful trespass by the bank on their land.They added that all efforts made to invite the said John Eikore to a family meeting for the purpose of clarifying his dealing with the bank in respect of the property proved abortive, as his new residence and whereabouts became unknown to them.The claimants also stated that the bank’s dealing in respect of their family property is unlawful, reckless, speculative and gold-digging, as diligent and honest enquiry by the bank or its solicitors would have revealed that Mr. John Eikore could not have posed as the owner of their family property which was duly registered in 1967 and that subsequent investigation into the bank’s acts of trespassing on their land revealed that second defendant Ablag Nigeria Limited acted as front for some directors of the bank who purportedly bought the house with a deposit of N100,000, from a man who claimed to be their late father, Mr. Anicetus Eikore, who died intestate on November 2, 1990.They further stated that Slag Company,subsequently sold their family house to the Bank for the sum of N25 million, out of which they gave the impersonator and his agent the sum of N16,900,000 thereby making a whopping profit of N8 million from the illegal deal with the family property.
The claimants added that their late father who died intestate on November 2, 1990, could not have possibly sold or transferred any valid legal equitable title to either Diamond Bank or Ablag Company in 2006 or 2007, and that the purported unregistered and undated Deeds of Assignment between their father and the defendants is incurably defective, null and void. Consequently, the claimants were seeking a declaration that their family property could not have been sold or transferred to the defendants in 2006 or 2007 by their late father who died intestate on November 2, 1990. They were also seeking a declaration that the purported sale of their family property to the bank is invalid, null and void, therefore urging the court to issue an order setting aside the purported sale or transfer of the their family property to the defendants. They also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, whether by themselves, their agents or privies or by any person acting on their behalf from trespassing on their family property.
An order compelling the bank to vacate and give up vacant possession of their family property and the sum of N50 million as damages jointly and severally against the defendants for their alleged unlawful act of trespassing and shady dealing on their family land.
However, the defendants in their response to the suit, while denying the claimants’ amended statement of claim, insisted that they bought the property from the claimants’ late father in 2007.Diamond Bank in its statement of defence filed before the court by its lawyer, Segun Ololade, while denying all the claims of the claimants stated that it bought the property from the second defendant, Ablag Company Limited, who originally bought same from the late Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore wherein purchase receipt, deed of sale and necessary documents to further support the fact that the deceased was the owner of the property was supplied to Ablag company by the claimants’ late father who also swore to an affidavit on January 11, 2007 and that it was upon the purchase of the said land from the claimants’ late father, that the second defendant proceeded to perfect the transactions. The bank also stated that before the execution of the necessary documents between the claimants’ late father to vest title of the property on the defendant, they took reasonable steps to conduct necessary searches and investigations of the said property and found out that the property was duly registered in the name of the claimants’ late father. The bank added that they bought the land without notice of any encumbrance. The bank therefore urged the court to dismiss the claimants’ suit with substantive cost, as it was not properly constituted and also being frivolous, vexatious, and abuse of court process. Also, the second defendant,
However Ablag Company Limited, in its statement of defence filed by its lawyer, Wole Ajayi, equally urged the court to dismiss the claimants’ suit with substantive cost for being frivolous, vexatious, gold-digging and fraudulent calculated to embarrass them and mislead the court.
It also contended that the claimants’ late father, Mr. Anicetus Ibhagbe Eikore in his capacity as the owner of the said property in the suit, sold the property to it in 2007 which it later directly transferred to the bank.
It added that the claimants’ late father on January 11, 2007, personally produced and swore to an affidavit in respect of the property and later with a police report by himself all in respect of the property in dispute.
According to Shokishombolonews.com
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
celebrity radar - gossips
Nationwide Talent, One Broadcaster: Tinubu Picks Pedro, Bello, Din, Mohammed to Lead NTA
Tinubu Overhauls NTA Leadership: Media Powerhouse Rotimi Pedro Takes Helm as DG
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a major shake-up at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), appointing renowned media executive Rotimi Richard Pedro as the new Director-General in a move widely seen as a bold step toward modernising the state broadcaster.
Pedro, a Lagos native, brings nearly 30 years of expertise in broadcasting, sports rights, and marketing communications across Africa, the UK, and the Middle East. A trained entertainment and intellectual property lawyer, he also holds an MSc in Investment Management and Finance from City University Business School, London.
In 1995, Pedro founded Optima Sports Management International (OSMI), which rose to become one of Africa’s leading sports content providers—distributing premium events such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, and CAF competitions to audiences in over 40 countries.
His career highlights include top roles at Bloomberg Television Africa and Rapid Blue Format, as well as advisory work for FIFA, UEFA, Fremantle Media, and the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB). At the AUB, he was instrumental in securing exclusive pan-African free-to-air media rights for all CAF competitions.
Alongside Pedro’s appointment, Tinubu named Karimah Bello from Katsina State as Executive Director of Marketing, Stella Din from Plateau State as Executive Director of News, and Sophia Issa Mohammed from Adamawa State as Managing Director of NTA Enterprises Limited.
Industry insiders credit Pedro with building commercially viable broadcast platforms, driving sponsorship growth, and delivering world-class content to African audiences. His appointment marks one of the most significant leadership changes at NTA in years—signalling the government’s intent to strengthen the broadcaster’s competitiveness in a fast-evolving media landscape.
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