A Federal Capital Territory High Court has struck out the criminal charges filed against Ghanaian investors behind JonahCapital Ltd and a Nigerian lawyer in connection with the long-running River Park Estate dispute in Abuja.
Justice Modupe-Osho Adebiyi delivered the ruling on Tuesday after the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) applied to withdraw the case, effectively bringing the prosecution to an end.
The charges, initiated by the Inspector-General of Police, bordered on alleged forgery and the purported illegal allocation of shares linked to the River Park Estate development, a high-profile real estate project along the Airport Road corridor of the Federal Capital Territory.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the AGF, Aishatu Kalthungo, informed the court that she had received formal directives to discontinue the matter under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the Attorney-General to terminate criminal proceedings at any stage before judgment.
The defence team did not oppose the application. Consequently, the court granted the request and struck out the charge.
The defendants in the case included three Ghanaian nationals—Samuel Esson Jonah, Kojo Ansah Mensah, and Victor Quainoo—alongside a Nigerian lawyer, Abu Arome. The prosecution stemmed from allegations surrounding ownership structure, shareholding, and control of the River Park Estate.
In the lead-up to the withdrawal, the Justice Ministry had raised concerns over the handling of the matter by the police. The AGF faulted the findings of the IGP Monitoring Unit, describing them as misleading and insufficient to establish criminal liability.
The ministry maintained that the dispute was essentially commercial in nature and warned against the criminalisation of civil disagreements involving contracts and shareholding arrangements. It also noted that the police lacked the jurisdiction to determine land ownership or adjudicate contractual disputes, citing provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
As part of its intervention, the AGF had earlier directed the Corporate Affairs Commission to reverse administrative actions taken based on what it described as a discredited police report.
The court’s decision marks a significant legal turning point in one of Abuja’s most closely watched real estate disputes, underscoring ongoing concerns around land ownership conflicts, foreign investment, and regulatory overreach in the Federal Capital Territory.
