By Correspondent in Abuja.
An Abuja High Court has postponed the arraignment of three Ghanaian nationals and a Nigerian lawyer, Abu Arome, over alleged forgery charges until October 7.
Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi of Court 18 was scheduled to preside over the case on Wednesday, but proceedings were rescheduled due to a shift in the court’s calendar. According to a court registrar, the change was necessitated by a backlog of cases from Tuesday, which were not heard due to the public holiday in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
As a result, all matters originally fixed for Wednesday were given new dates.
The defendants—Sir Sam Jonah, a Knight of the British Empire (KBE), Kojo Ansah, Victor Quainoo, and Abu Arome—are facing a 26-count charge filed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). The charge, marked CR/402/2025, was dated June 25 and filed the following day by Isa Garba of the Legal/Prosecution Section, Force Headquarters, Abuja. A company, Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd, is also named as a defendant in the case.
The defendants are accused of forging company documents to unlawfully take over Jonahcapital Nigeria Ltd, Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd, and gain ownership control of River Park Estate in Abuja.
Police investigations reportedly uncovered that the accused illicitly increased the share capital of the companies and allocated 99 million shares to themselves using forged documents and signatures. They are also alleged to have falsely presented themselves as Nigerian citizens in filings to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to facilitate the scheme.
In Count One, Kojo Ansah, identified as the Managing Director/CEO of Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd, and Samuel Esson Jonah are accused of knowingly providing false information to the FCT Commissioner of Police and the Inspector-General of Police through petitions dated January 23 and September 9, 2024. The petitions, which named John Townley Johnson, Adeniran Ogunmuyiwa, and Paul Odili, alleged fraud, land grabbing, and identity theft—claims the prosecution says were knowingly false. The offence is punishable under Section 178 of the Penal Code.
In Count 26, Ansah, Jonah, Quainoo, Arome, and Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd are accused of criminal trespass into Plot No. 4, Cadastral Zone E30, Lugbe West (River Park Estate) between January 2010 and January 2025. The land is reportedly owned by Jonahcapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd. The accused allegedly built structures on the land under the name of Mobus Property Nigeria Ltd and claimed ownership of the estate.
This offence is said to contravene Section 342 and is punishable under Section 348 of the Penal Code.
