Police arrest businessman for selling Aswani market for N83m

The Nigerian police have arrested a businessman, Cyprian Nwankwo for allegedly selling four plots of land mapped out by the Lagos State government for the construction of Aswani market to his partner, Monday Chinke for the sum of N83m in Isolo, Lagos state, Western Nigeria.

The Abia-born Nwankwo, who is the managing director, Advance International Merchant Limited allegedly sold the land to his business partner, elder Chinke, who was a shareholder in the company.

After he sold the land and prepared a deed of transfer, it was discovered that the land was earmarked for the construction of Aswani market by the state government.

The police at Zone 2 Onikan arrested Nwankwo after it investigated the ownership of the land and discovered that the land belonged to Lagos state.

The office of the Lagos State governor, in response to charting information dated 13 August 2014 and signed by Ayokunnu. S. Adesina, stated the land falls within Aswani market acquisition.

Consequently, Chinke wrote a petition to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr Umar Manko who ordered his arrest for the fraud.

In a pettion dated, 24 October 2014 Chinke said he was a business partner of Nwankwo who unilaterally decided to give him his own share from the asset of the company.

He said Nwankwo contracted an evaluator and it was resolved that his own share was N83m. He said he requested for cash, but Nwankwo insisted that he would pay him his share with the land and claimed that the company had no cash to pay him.

He said when it became apparent that Nwankwo was not willing to pay him cash he considered the land proposition and collected a deed of transfer.

In the petition to Manko, Chinke stated that he was a shareholder and director at Advance International Merchant Limited with 10 per cent shares.

Following the unilateral decission of Nwankwo he was removed from the board of directors and an evaluation of the company’s asset was done to determine his stake which stood at N83m.

He said after the evaluation, Nwankwo refused to pay him in cash, instead, he directed his lawyer to prepare deed of transfer in favour of a four plots of land at Aswani market.

He assured him that the title of the land was genuine and they executed the deed of transfer as payment. He said in attempt to take possession, he was directed to chart the land at the office of survey General of Lagos state.

He said he was shocked to discover that the land was neither the property of Nwankwo nor the company as the chart revealed that the land was under the Lagos State compulsory acquisition and committed to Aswani market.

He said when he confronted Nwankwo, he told him that he had paid him and boasted that he was well connected in Nigeria police from Abuja to Lagos.

He said since then he had made moves making appeal to Nwankwo to pay him but he refused, insisting that he had paid him with the land that does not belong to him and the company.

Following the petition, Nwankwo was arrested and detained for the alleged fraud. In response, Nwankwo said he did not know the land belonged to Lagos State government.

He said since he had paid Chinke with the land, he had to bear the loss because the transaction was a contractual agreement between them.

He said he bought the land from the royal family at Isolo was not prepared to pay Chinke any money except the land.