A real estate developer in Enugu State, Hon. Okey Ayogu and his company, Hymac Real Limited are not under investigation by the Department of Security Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Army for alleged impersonation.
The real estate firm and its Managing Director are not also involved in the destruction People’s property in any capacity in the state as alleged recently by an online publication.
A statement issued in Enugu through the secretary of the firm, Sopuruchukwu Uzoigwe, a lawyer, explained that the reason for the sponsored malicious falsehood being published against him, his companies and their managements was because he refused to surrender his ancestral land to shadow companies belonging to powerful politicians in Enugu State Government.
Uzoigwe added that his continued battle with land grabbers culminated in Governor Peter Mbah’s directives for the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority in a letter dated 14th of July 2023 to remove the illegal structure built on the plot P/23C by land grabbers, while directing the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation on 18th of July to restore the 8.2 hectares belonging to his company, Hyfield with immediate effect.
According to him, the powerful politicians in 2021 invaded Plot P/23C Independence Layout owned and being developed by HYMAC Real Ltd, and subdivided the plot of land measuring 6602 square meters amongst themselves using some professional organisations for a cover.
“They placed armed men on the plot P/23C to kill our Managing Director and any staff of HYMAC REAL LTD that dares to come near the property.
“The people equally sent Enugu State Housing Development Corporation to invade and seize 8.2 hectares of land belonging to Hyfield and Allied Associates Ltd, another company where Hon. Ayogu owns a majority share. These were regardless of the fact that HYMAC was duly allocated plot P/23C and had paid all necessary fees upon which the government of Enugu state had granted certificate of occupancy to it for the land, and Hyfield had equally registered its deed of lease and Irrevocable Power of Attorney on the 8.2 hectares at Enugu Land Registry in the Ministry of Land.
“Consequently, Our Company, HYMAC instructed our Lawyer to petition the Inspector General of Police to investigate a case of criminal trespass, malicious damage against Okey Ezugwu and Co and the police wrote a letter of inquiry to the Ministry, to which they replied that the land belongs to HYMAC REAL LTD and supplied to police the certified true copies of all the documents of title and root of title of Plot P/23C.
“However efforts made by police to arrest those land grabbers and their armed cultists were thwarted by those powerful politicians and Hon. Justice Hyacintha Ezugwu, (the wife of Okey Ezugwu) who is a serving Judge with the Enugu State High Court as they would call the police and get the armed cultists released. HYMAC took the matter to court to seek redress in 2021.
“Also in 2021, high ranking officials of the Ministry of Lands were summoned to the Enugu Government House where they were directed to go and falsify documents to enable those land grabbers to have something to present before the court, the officials however responded that they had already submitted their report to IG of Police in response to his inquiry on the land and attached therewith the certified true copies of all the documents relating to the title of Plot P/23C and that it will be impossible to falsify anything in the file.
“After two days, the officials were invited again and the officials repeated what they had said earlier. The following day then Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi sent the Head of Service to the ministry of land to effect punitive posting of all the directors, namely: Director of Land, Surveyor General, Director of Town planning, the secretary to the ministry and the Head of Deed Registry amongst others from the ministry of land to the office of the Head of Service without portfolio.
“Consequently, the Commissioner for Land and Urban Development, Dr. Victor Nnam, resigned in protest, stating clearly that his conscience would not allow him to continue to serve as Commissioner while his management team is being punished for refusing to do the wrong thing.
“Hon. Justice C. C. Ani who was hearing the matter was transferred to Nsukka allegedly for insisting on the justice of the matter. On the 8.2 hectares, Hyfield equally went to court to challenge the illegal takeover of its property”, the statement said..
He added however, that things changed for him (Ayogu) when the administration of Dr Peter Mbah decided to look into the cases of land grabbing in Enugu State by powerful forces and HYMAC and Hyfield properties were equally presented to the new administration for redress of the witch-hunt they had suffered.
“The state government set up a committee to look into all the issues relating to land fraud and racketeering by powerful forces in Enugu with the aim of restoring land ownership integrity in Enugu by restoring the properties to their owners. Victims of the menace sent in their petitions and all the parties in those cases were invited.
“The committee heard everybody and made their findings to the constituting authority.
“During the course of hearing on plot P/23C, the ministry of justice presented its legal opinion to then Governor Ugwuanyi written in 2021 on the status of Plot P/23C, in the legal opinion; the ministry in clear terms informed Governor Ugwuanyi that the land belongs to HYMAC REAL LTD and the forged documents being presented by Ezugwu and co are not worth the papers they were written on.
“The Enugu State Ministry of Justice lamented how then Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi ignored their well founded opinion on the subject matter all in a bid to deny HYMAC of its right.
“Mr. Okey Ezugwu and his Lawyer Dr Ozioko were challenged by the representative of the Ministry of Justice to deny knowledge of the fact that the land belongs to HYMAC. Mr Okey replied that he doesn’t work in the ministry of land and wouldn’t know who the land belongs to but all that he is saying is that his land is different from that of HYMAC.
“The committee then asked Ezugwu and his lawyer to explain the root of title of the portion of Plot P/23C he was laying claim to, they said they dont know the root of title”, Ayogu stated.
He listed officials present when the ministry of justice read their legal opinion written to Governor Ugwuanyi to include, the Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Solicitor General, Director of Civil Litigation, other members of the committee, and all the parties including Okey Ezugwu and his Lawyer and HYMAC managing Director and its Lawyer Barr Samuel Nnabuike Orji.
He noted that upon the committee’s thorough investigation, all the above mentioned witch-hunt suffered by Hyfield and HYMAC were uncovered.
He disclosed that following the findings of the committee, the State Government ordered the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority in a letter dated 14th of July 2023 to remove the illegal structure Ezugwu built on the plot P/23C, while directing the Enugu State Housing Development Corporations on 18th of July to restore the 8.2 hectares belonging Hyfield with immediate effect.
“The Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority and Enugu State Housing Development Corporation carried out the Governor’s directives but those land grabbers entrenched themselves and deployed all their reaches in diabolic conspiracy to demonize and destroy HYMAC REAL LTD and Hyfield and Allied Associates Ltd and its managing director, Hon. OKEY AYOGU, Hence the sponsored malicious falsehood being published against the companies and their managements.
“On many occasions, Mr. Tochukwu Nzekwe alias Toshel stormed the 8.2 hectares of land belonging to Hyfield with armed thugs and mobile policemen to attack the workers of Hyfield. He blocked the entrance with bulldozers so that Hyfield would not be able to bring in materials for construction with the aid of armed thugs and mobile policemen, and the Enugu Housing Corporation would intervene to remove it.
“On one occasion he insisted that Hyfield should not fence the property claiming that government should give him Seven Hundred Million Naira and when the director told him that Hyfield has right to fence its property he pushed the old man”.
On the billboards within the military barracks, Ayogu insisted that he being a private citizen cannot determine what happens in the barracks.
He recalled that when one Steve Nwachinemere a supposed operative of DSS, acting in collaboration with Emeka Eze, Tochukwu Nzekwe and Okey Ezugwu called him and threatened over certain billboards, he quicky let the Steve know that he was nowhere near the barracks and that whatever inquiry Steve wanted to make should be directed to the army.
“This threat by Mr. Steve was reported to the state Director of DSS by the deputy director of Operations DSS, Mr. James Chukwudi who received complaint of the incident from Hon. Ayogu, the State Director quickly apologized to Hon. Ayogu over the unauthorized call and threat by Mr. Steve and exonerated the authority of her office from illegal action of the operative. Hon. Ayogu is not under any investigation by the DSS or the Army
“On the issue of Nebo Kingsley and his Bishtech Consult Ltd, it was something in October 2020, when Kingsley was introduced to HYMAC REAL LTD as a real estate developer that wanted to buy 50 plots of land at the sum ot 200 million naira and an agreement was reached to the effect that Mr. Kingsley and his Company Bishtech were going to pay in four installments. However, after the first payment he was arrested by EFCC on alleged fraud, he was alleged to have duped some members of the public over 3billion naira and afterwards one Dare, an official of EFCC invited the Managing Director of Hymac to explain why proceeds of Mr Kingsley’s fraud was traced to the company’s account. Hymac MD presented sales agreement and explained that Mr. Kingsley presented himself as a developer unknown to HYMAC that he was a fraudster until his arrest and that the property is still with us.
“The EFCC therefore directed him not to release the land until the full conclusion of their investigation. The investigation against Mr. Kingsley is still ongoing but based on constant harassment by Mr. Nebo Kingsley and his notorious group, HYMAC on 5th of October 2022 caused its lawyer to write EFCC to find out if it was done with the investigation. The matter is currently in court and Mr Kingsley is a fugitive of justice”.
