A 44-year-old man,
Ikechukwu Ozichukwu, and
his mother, Mrs. Comfort Ebubechukwu, are
locked in battle over the sale of one of the
family's houses.
The building, a semi-detached duplex located on
21 Road, H Close, FESTAC, Lagos State, was
allegedly sold in January 2013 while Ozichukwu
was still living there with his wife and two
children.
It was learnt that Ozichukwu's mother allegedly
sold the house for N27m. Another property was
subsequently purchased at the Satellite Town
area in the name of his younger brother who
lived in the United States.
PUNCH Metro gathered that it was when the
new buyer wanted to move into the house that
Ozichukwu knew that the house no longer
belonged to the family.
Ozichukwu said, "Early this year, I was
approached by two buyers who claimed that the
house was for sale. At the time, my mother was
away in the United States. When the rumour
persisted, I obtained a Caveat on the house from
the Ikeja High Court.
"But when my mother returned a few weeks
after, she said she had indeed put the house up
for sale. I objected to this because this was the
only property that my late father had in Lagos."
He added that his objection did not go down well
with his mother.
A few weeks later, the son said his mum's
lawyer, Mr. Sam Eneonwuta, came to the house
with some documents showing that he had
agreed to the sale.
He said, "I am a joint administrator with my
mother for our father's estate, so my permission
is also needed on anything that would happen
to the estate. Of, course, I declined to sign the
documents.
"I was arrested some days later by some
policemen from the Area E Command, FESTAC.
My mother had written a petition alleging threat
to life. I was detained for two days. Later, the
Area Commander advised us to settle the
dispute.
"In March 2013, my mother who also lived in the
same building, moved out without my
knowledge. Soon after this, I got a quit notice
from my mother's lawyer, giving me a week's
notice to vacate the premises."
Ozichukwu said a week after the quit notice, 15
people came to the house to eject him.
However, they were stopped by the police.
He added that he was subsequently arrested by
policemen from State Criminal Investigative
Department, Yaba, based on petitions by
Ebubechukwu's lawyer. The matter was also
said to have been reported at Zone 2 command.
He said, "I was going from one police formation
to the other. It was at this period that I was
informed by the police that my mother had left
for the US after selling the house for N27m.
Another property had been purchased in its
place at Satellite town in the name of my
younger brother who lives in the US.
"I was shocked because I never consented to the
sale. Eventually, it was discovered at the Zone 2
Command that my signature had been forged on
the documents to facilitate the sale in April."
It was learnt that when the new owner could not
move into the house, he also reported at Special
Fraud Unit, Ikoyi. Ozichuwku was once again
arrested by operatives from SFU.
Ozichuwku said, "I have been to the SFU office
many times, but during this time some men,
claiming to be court sheriffs, came to the house.
They said they were from the Apapa
Magistrate's Court. They took some snapshots
of the house and left. I have been to the said
court and couldn't find any summons relating to
me or the property. If I am being taken to court,
at least I should be contacted."
Eneonuwta, when contacted, said Ozichukwu's
mother had fled the house.
He said, "Ebubechukwu was ill-advised at the
time the letter of administration was drawn up
to include Ozichukwu. The house belongs to her
and not the late husband because although he
had been made an offer before his death, she
was the one who made the final payment and
developed the building."
Ozichukwu's US-based younger brother, Kelechi,
told our correspondent on the telephone that the
mother was receiving medical treatment and
was unavailable for comment.
He insisted that the house belonged to their
mother.
He said, "My father won that house during the
FESTAC 77. Shortly after that, he died. It was
my mother who followed up and developed the
building. She needed the proceeds from the sale
of the house to pay for her medical treatment in
the US."
The Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 2, Lewi
Suleiman confirmed the case.
He said, "During our investigation, Eneonuwta
claimed that he was given power of attorney by
Ozichukwu and that the document was handed
over to him by Ebubechukwu.
"Ozichukwu denied signing any document of that
nature. We have obtained the document along
with a specimen of Ozichukwu's signature and
both have been sent to Alagbon so that the
appropriate department can determine if
Ozichukwu's signature was forged. We are still
awaiting the results."
The PPRO SFU, Mrs. Ngosi Isintume-Agu, also
confirmed the case. She said, "We are still
investigating the case."
No comments:
Post a Comment