A businessman, Cyprian Nwankwo has been
arrested by the police after he reportedly sold 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 share holder 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, it stated the land
falls within Aswani market acquisition, hence
committed.
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 contacted 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.
www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2014/12/04/bizman-arrested-for-selling-aswani-market-for-n83m/