Umuaka News24

Umuaka News24 | Investigative Desk

Uba Umuaka legal practitioner, Mr. Godwin Ifeayinchukwu Udeagwu, has become the subject of renewed scrutiny over a long-running dispute involving an alleged ₦24 million land transaction, as documents reviewed by Umuaka News24 including a petition to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), a signed refund agreement and records referencing an EFCC investigation have brought the matter back into public focus.

The case which has reportedly remained unresolved for years, centres on Plot C/8, Institutional and Staff Quarters Layout, New Owerri, a property which the complainant, Mr. Kingsley Obinna Aso of Ihitte Afara of Mbaitoli Local Government Area says he purchased after relying on representations allegedly made during the transaction.

A petition dated 6 May 2019 submitted to the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Owerri Branch by the law firm of Eddy Onyema & Co., lays out a detailed account of how the disputed transaction allegedly unfolded.

According to the petition, the transaction began in February 2017, when the seller lawyer allegedly presented himself as Mr. Okechukwu Onyema claiming to be the lawful owner of the property.

The petition states that Mr. Aso, who is based in the United Kingdom paid the agreed purchase price through relatives in Nigeria and was issued a Power of Attorney.

However, the dispute allegedly escalated when he demanded the original allocation documents for the property,Rather than receiving the original title documents, the petition alleges that he was persuaded to pay additional money on the understanding that fresh allocation documents would be processed in his name.

It further claims that the document eventually produced was an allegedly fake allocation letter dated 20 February 2017, issued in Mr. Aso’s name but referencing Plot C/11 instead of Plot C/8, the land he believed he had purchased.

The petition also alleges that subsequent inquiries revealed that Plot C/8 was already entangled in litigation involving the Imo State Government and the Nigerian Shipping Company which mr Aso claimed that it was a lie.

Among the documents reviewed by Umuaka News24 is a written agreement dated 20 June 2018, in which Mr. Udeagwu allegedly undertook to refund ₦24 million to Mr. Aso.

The agreement reportedly stipulated that the refund would be completed between 20 June and 20 October 2018 and bears signatures attributed to both parties as well as witnesses, The complainant says the refund was never honoured.

Speaking to Umuaka News24, Mr. Aso alleged that the disputed property was later sold to another buyer who subsequently developed the site into a hotel.

He further claimed that despite years of pursuing the matter through law enforcement and legal channels, he has yet to recover his money.

Mr. Aso also alleged that police officers tracked using women and arrested Mr. Udeagwu on several occasions but claimed that he repeatedly secured bail and failed to honour subsequent police invitations.

He further alleged that after admitting that the land had been resold, Mr. Udeagwu issued him a ₦10 million fake cheque which he claims was returned unpaid when presented at the bank.

According to the complainant, he has spent more than ₦15 million pursuing the recovery of his money through legal and other processes.

He also alleged that other individuals may have suffered similar experiences and urged members of the public to exercise caution.

Another document cited by the complainant references an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation which allegedly identified the individual who had represented himself as Mr. Okechukwu Onyema as Udeagwu Godwin Ifeayinchukwu of Uba Umuaka,The same record allegedly links him to a law office located within the World Bank Housing Estate area of Owerri.

Umuaka News24 notes that these remain serious allegations contained in petitions, agreements and investigative documents presented by the complainant.

Mr. Godwin Ifeayinchukwu Udeagwu has the right to respond to these allegations and Umuaka News24 remains willing to publish his response in full should he choose to comment