…One Man’s Grand Scheme to Take Over a Lagos Estate
By Chibuzo Ihegboro
For just over four years, residents—both tenants and landlords—of Divine Home Estate, a quiet community in Lekki-Ajah, Lagos, have been engaged in a silent battle against a man intent on fraudulently taking control of their property.
Henry Uche Nwabueze has boldly attempted to hijack the administration of the estate’s residents’ association.
However, on December 31, 2024, it became clear to them that they needed to intensify their efforts in resisting their antagonist. Nwabueze arrived with a posse of 21 mobile police officers to enforce a court injunction that effectively granted him the right to take over the chairmanship of the estate’s association.
The residents’ collective resistance thwarted his plan, holding firm until 3 a.m. when the bona fide chairman of the association and his deputy returned from submitting a petition at the Zone 2 Police Division in Alagbon. They had filed a stay of execution against the judgment that threatened to grant Nwabueze control.
This moment marked the beginning of the residents’ fightback, which culminated in a press briefing on January 16, 2025, to share their ordeal with the public.
In the case of Divine Home Residents’ Association versus Henry Uche Nwabueze, several questions remain unanswered. How did one person, who the residents claim is not even a landlord in the estate, gain the power to plan a coup and take over the residents’ association? What enabled him to secure the support of both the police and the courts, leading to the institution of eight cases against the estate in the Federal High Court? And how was he able to sustain his relentless onslaught for four years?
Obioha Okengwo, the vice chairman of the estate, simplified the complex case for clarity. According to him, the heart of the problem lay in Nwabueze’s attempt to seize control of the estate’s administration through deceit.
“He is a tenant, not a landlord,” Okengwo stated. “Our constitution stipulates that only landlords who are up-to-date with their financial obligations to the estate are eligible to contest the position of chairman.” He further asserted that Nwabueze had never contested an election for the post.
To highlight the scale of the fraud, the residents presented a letter written by Nwabueze in September 2024. In the letter, addressed to his ally Samuel Gbadebo Ladejola-Oginni, he claimed: “You will recall that I was voted into office on June 23, 2021, and my four-year tenure will end on June 23, 2025. Hence, by this appointment, you are required to complete my four-year tenure, which ends on June 23, 2025. Please take note that, by virtue of this appointment, you are now the acting chairman of Divine Home Residents Association.”
Okengwo insisted, “All he has done is go to court and obtain ex parte orders against the estate. That is his strategy.”
He explained the nature of this ‘judicial fraud’: Nwabueze had someone sue him in a capacity he did not hold, and obtained a judgment without the estate’s knowledge.
“We would be here in the estate, and suddenly, he would show up with a court order related to a suit we had no knowledge of,” Okengwo said, adding that police officers from the Zone 2 Division had assisted in his conspiracies.
Ubaidat Lawal, a resident and landlord with property on No. 13 Folwale Ariyibi Avenue, also provided a legal perspective. “He went to the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, got an injunction, and sued both the estate and himself in the capacity of both plaintiff and defendant. He obtained an injunction to take over the management of the estate, but only served us the judgment on the day of execution.”
The estate fought back by filing a stay of execution, and a date for the proper hearing of the case has yet to be set.
In the span of four years, Nwabueze initiated eight cases in which he was both the plaintiff and defendant.
He obtained multiple ex parte injunctions, one of which successfully froze the association’s bank account for nine months. “As soon as the account was unfrozen, he sued First Bank and Zenith Bank, the estate’s bankers. As we speak, the estate’s account remains frozen by the Federal High Court,” Lawal said.
She also underscored his use of police officers to harass the residents. “He goes from one police station to another with frivolous petitions,” she explained, “and at times, with police support, he locked the estate gates, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.”
At one point, the residents obtained permission to bring in mobile police officers to oversee security. “But the mobile police were withdrawn after he went to their formation with false allegations,” Lawal explained. “Currently, the estate’s permit is on hold because of his endless frivolous petitions.”
She added, “Each time the police invite us, we go with the right documents to present our side of the story.”
According to her, police investigations have been conducted on three occasions, and reports confirming Nwabueze’s claims were baseless were issued. “We expected these reports to be circulated, but on December 31, 2024, he brought 21 mobile police officers into the estate,” she lamented.
Adanne Ukoha, a widow and owner of property at No. 3, Adewale Shittu Street, shared her experience with Nwabueze, shedding light on his tactics. She recounted how he attempted to take over a property she leased to him in 2020.
“The property was partially rented to a church, and I wanted to renovate the remaining three-bedroom section. One of my previous tenants brought him in. Unfortunately, I didn’t carry out a background check. Nwabueze proposed a five-year lease, but my lawyer insisted on payment in full within two weeks.
He paid for only one year (₦700,000) in two instalments. He claimed to be a furniture maker and wanted to erect some structures, which I initially consented to. But a few months later, I noticed that he was building with blocks on my property, which I quickly stopped.”
The trouble began when his rent expired. “He couldn’t pay, so we went to court. He got an additional six months, and the case is now with the Magistrate Court in Badore. He kept frustrating the case. At one point, he petitioned the magistrate, Mrs. Fabimowo, when an injunction was issued to stop him from working on the property. The case was reassigned to another magistrate. He has not appeared in court in the four years we’ve been litigating.”
Nwabueze’s attempts to claim the chairmanship of the residents’ association became a public matter when the estate uncovered a sworn affidavit of ownership for the property at No. 3, Adewale Shittu Street, belonging to Adanne Ukoha.
Eventually, Ukoha found a way to deal with him. “The estate alerted me, and my lawyer applied for a Certified True Copy of my property documents. We sent a petition to Alagbon, and he was arrested.
After a thorough investigation, he was found guilty of fraud and arraigned in Tinubu Magistrate Court for perjury. He spent three days in Ikoyi prison before securing bail,” she said.
The case was heard on January 15, 2025, with Ukoha testifying and undergoing cross-examination.
Ukoha’s property at No. 3, Adewale Shittu Street was key to Nwabueze’s fraudulent claim to the chairmanship. In 2023, he arranged for a non-resident welder to sue him as the property’s landlord.
Nwabueze won the case at the Ikoyi High Court, which fraudulently legitimised his status as a landlord in Divine Home Estate, without the owner’s knowledge. The estate was later made aware of this and filed for a stay of execution.
After Ukoha secured an injunction ordering Nwabueze to vacate, he went to the Ikoyi High Court to obtain a stay of execution.
Justice O.O. Martins quashed it, and Nwabueze’s claim that he had purchased the property for ₦288 million was questioned by police. He refused to answer how he had paid.
Having been ejected from Ukoha’s property, Nwabueze remained in the estate.
He rented another apartment using his wife, who pretended to be leasing on behalf of someone abroad. Again, he tried to defraud the owner by claiming he had bought the property.
Okengwo, the vice chairman, noted a disturbing aspect of the problem: “These ex parte judgments were granted by only two judges at the High Court—Justice Akintayo Aluko and Justice Louis Allagoa. He tried with other judges, but they struck out his suits. Only Aluko and Allagoa have tolerated his excesses.”
He highlighted an alarming case: “On January 4, 2024, Justice Aluko struck out a case. The very next day, January 5, the same case was filed again—same number, same parties—and the judgment was given, all in one day.”
Okengwo further revealed that Nwabueze had gone to every police formation around the estate, but found receptive ears only at Zone 2. “He even claimed to have been kidnapped for three days,” Okengwo added.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Fakayode Adegoke, spoke briefly with XpressNG: “The matter had been ongoing before I took office as AIG, but when it came to my attention, I invited all the parties and listened carefully. I found that the estate did not deserve the problems it was facing; all the troubles were created by one person.”
The residents of Divine Home Estate, now united in their resistance, remain committed to defending their rights.
