One of Ghana’s most prominent business figures, Sir Sam Jonah, has elevated a long-running corporate dispute in Nigeria to the diplomatic level, formally petitioning Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over what he describes as the unlawful seizure of his investments by Nigerian state authorities.

In an 11-page petition dated December 13, 2025, titled “Concise Summary,” Sir Jonah accuses Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of taking extraordinary administrative actions that effectively expropriated his shares in a multi-million-dollar real estate project in Abuja, while disregarding ongoing court proceedings.

The petition urges the Government of Ghana to intervene diplomatically, engage Nigerian authorities at the highest level, alert ECOWAS institutions to potential breaches of regional investment protection agreements, and demand the immediate reversal of the CAC’s actions.

By doing so, Sir Jonah has transformed what began as a private commercial dispute into a broader test case for cross-border investment protection within West Africa.

At the centre of the dispute is River Park Estate, a major real estate development in Abuja, in which Sir Jonah’s companies—JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd and Houses for Africa Nigeria Ltd—hold controlling interests.

According to the petition, the Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji (SAN), cancelled all corporate filings of the two companies on December 8, 2025, despite being served with a court injunction restraining such action.

“To our utter shock, on Monday, 8th December 2025, upon checking the company status report, we discovered that the entire corporate records of our companies had been cancelled,” Sir Jonah stated.

He argues that the decision stripped his companies of legal standing, reduced their effective shareholding, and rendered them incapable of defending themselves in ongoing litigation.

The move, he contends, amounts to administrative overreach and raises serious concerns about due process, the sanctity of court orders and investor protection in Nigeria.

Sir Jonah further alleges that the CAC relied on a disputed police report authored by Deputy Commissioner of Police Akin Fakorede to justify its actions.

He says the report contradicts the findings of a 10-member Special Investigation Panel (SIP) earlier established to probe allegations of document forgery related to the project.

According to the petition, the SIP found no basis for the criminal claims later used to impose regulatory sanctions.

Sir Jonah argues that relying on a single police report while ignoring broader investigative findings and subsisting court orders undermines the credibility of the regulatory process.

He further claims that criminal allegations were weaponised in what is essentially a commercial dispute, allowing administrative agencies to intervene in a manner that favoured local interests.

The petition traces the investment back to 2006, when JonahCapital Nigeria Ltd was incorporated, followed by a development lease agreement in 2007 with Nigeria’s Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) for the River Park Estate.

Over time, share restructuring left Sir Jonah’s entities as the principal stakeholders in the project.

The crisis, he claims, began after he demanded accountability from a local Nigerian agent, Paul Odili of Paulo Homes Ltd, over alleged land encroachment within the estate.

Sir Jonah alleges that this triggered a campaign of misrepresentation, including illegal land sales, false ownership claims and the filing of criminal complaints aimed at shifting control of the project.

These actions, he argues, culminated in the controversial intervention by the CAC, which effectively paralysed his companies.

A key concern raised in the petition is the risk of asset dissipation.

Sir Jonah warns that by cancelling the companies’ records, the CAC has created conditions under which estate assets could be sold, transferred or encumbered without the rightful owners having the legal capacity to challenge such actions.

He cautions that the development sets a dangerous precedent, not only for his investments but for other foreign and regional investors operating in Nigeria.

By appealing directly to Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Sir Jonah is asking the Ghanaian state to intervene where private legal remedies have allegedly failed.

The petition calls on Ghana to engage Nigeria bilaterally, invoke ECOWAS investment protection frameworks, and assert its responsibility to protect Ghanaian nationals and their assets abroad.

The case is particularly sensitive given Nigeria’s status as one of Ghana’s largest trading partners and a key destination for Ghanaian businesses seeking regional expansion.

Beyond Sir Jonah’s personal interests, the petition raises wider concerns about regulatory certainty, the rule of law and the treatment of foreign investors within West Africa.

If administrative agencies can override court injunctions and effectively erase corporate entities through executive action, the petition argues, then regional investment protection regimes risk being rendered meaningless.

As Ghana’s government considers its response, the dispute now stands as a critical test of ECOWAS’ commitment to rule-based commerce and investor protection in the sub-region