Abuja, Nigeria – For decades, buying property was considered a safe investment in Nigeria. Now, instead of building a foundation of wealth for the country’s middle class, real estate has become a source of discontent and anger.
For Nigerian and America-based Dr. Cynthia Nwakobi, the thought of buying a land to build new house in her home country, Nigeria, as a perfect place for her and the family to retire in a few years, is at last becoming a mirage.
In 2021 she included borrowing $300,000 through a line of credit to pay for 6 plots of land in Amunanaw in Enugu State – Nigeria to build a residential and commercial buildings, but it has turned into a nightmare. More frustrating is that the American bank that lend her the money for the project have started a receivership, while the mixed drama of having her money refunded by the Estate owners is farfetched.
It’s nearly two years since she paid N132,500,000 (One Hundred and Thirty Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira) to acquire land in the Satellite Estate Enugu, unaware that the land is a subject of litigations between the vendor, Chief Jim Nwobodo and Amechi Awkunanaw Community (suite No.E/471/2019), yet the Estate owner is keeping her money – with no reason.
She avers that she purchased 6 plots of land in the estate out of trust that the firm belongs to reputable elder statesman, which later turned out to be false representation.
Jim Nwobodo, elder statesman was a governor of Anambra State. His community gifted him large expanse of land in 1984 to site a company that would employ thousands of youths. The company was never built and no youth was ever employed. Instead, several years down, Chief Nwobodo reportedly started selling the land in plots for the purpose of developing an estate. Now the community people want their lands back, since the purpose abinitio is defeated.
Recently, shockwaves spread across Nigeria in response to the news that the former Governor is engulfed in a dramatic and unprecedented allegations of land grabbing and housing hoax, precipitating all eyes on him and his estate tangled in alleged fraud, significant investigations and lawsuits.
According to Dr. Nwakaobi “I paid for 6 plots of land in the said estate not knowing that the land is encumbered and pending in court. Chief Jim Nwobodo, his wife, Mrs. Patricia Nwobodo in collusion with Barr. Eli Ugwu had assured me that the land was free from any litigation and collected money from me.
“I have told them I don’t want that land again. Instead of refunding me my money, they choose to blackmail, threats and all sorts. They are holding my money hostage; they are holding my live hostage. For over a year, I have just been waiting, she said, adding, ‘I am victimized and I want justice. I want Chief Jim Nwobodo, his Wife and Lawyer to refund my money,” she cries out.
Accusing Chief Nwobodo, his wife and counsel of lying to her to part away with N132.5m for purchase of the land in dispute, she alleged is a “staggering fraud scheme to enrich themselves.”
Exasperated, Dr. Nwakobi has written petitions to President Muhammad Buhari, Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the Economic Financial Crime Commissions EFCC, scandalizing perceived impropriety in the land deal.
Chief Nwobodo’s perils have become insurmountable and could snuff out the former governors hopes of ownership of the large expanse of land and estate now subject of controversies – litigations and alleged fraud claims
The elder statesman is reportedly involved in so many lawsuits and investigations–including allegations of interference with his community leadership, alleged sharp business involving Dr Nwakaobi and personal defamation–these can be difficult to keep him straight again.
The breadth of Chief Nwobodo’s controversies is truly huge, he is pointed in the travails of the the traditional ruler of Awkunanaw Community, Igwe Anthony Ogbodo Okorie who stands suspended by the government for no clear reason.
To catalog the full sweep of allegations against the well respected elder statesman would require thousands of words and lump together with trivial issues that are truly more scandalous. The cascade of civil lawsuites and now EFCC investigations spell no good.
A community leader who wants his name kept private said, “The man and his fellow bootlickers hid under a rock rather than allow Chief Jim Nwobodo to respond to the accusations.
“These same people talk about Nwobodo like he’s above the law. He’s not above the law.”
However, in several interactions with journalists on purported accusation, Chief Nwobodo denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted for blackmail.
Chief Nwobodo threatened to sue the Dr. Nwakaobi for defamation. He told Nigeria based Newspaper, Champion that, “I am the only public officer who never acquired land while in office. Go round and check. All my property were acquired before I became governor”, I have no land with any encumbrance”.
“This lady is unknown to me, I have never met her or spoken to her on phone, I don’t know her. I am surprised that she petitioned against me. I am going to sue her! I will sue her and she will return to Nigeria to prove her case, yes she will return here to prove the matter”.
But some of his community people are contesting his claims on the ownership of the land in contention.
The Satellite Estate scandal was a real estate controversy that came to public attention in 2019. Although several of Estate associates fare quite differently.
An indigene, without specifying the names of accused, said “the facts surrounding the Amechi Awkunanaw Community land aka Satellite land has been in litigation since 2019 with Chief Jim Nwobodo. The Nwobodos sold the land to Dr. Cynthia NwKobi in 2021 knowing full well that the land is in dispute.
“The issue of bringing community crisis as a means of distracting the request for refund of N132.5m paid to them by Cynthia is irrelevant to the matter.
“The divisions in the community was perpetuated by Nwobodo hoping to use it take over the land when the community leadership joined in the case as the rightful owner having made the land available for overiding public interest of creating jobs not for sale as embarked by Nwobodo.
“He is using surrogate writers to cover the fact the fact that he should not sell a land in dispute until it’s resolved in court.
‘Let him refund the money to Dr. Nwakaobi and stop using community crises and name callings to deceive the general public.”
For Nwakobi, she feels a sense of betrayal. Her dream projects have went sideways. She said she was not told of hidden defects on the land also known as encumbrances which the vendor should ordinarily disclose to her at the beginning of the transaction.
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