Former governor of old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo, his wife, Patricia, and businessman Basil Ogbuanu are fighting over a piece of land in Independence Layout, Enugu, leading to the destruction of buildings and properties worth millions of naira to the chagrin of observers, LAWRENCE NJOKU reports.

Former governor of the old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo is a household name. Several years after serving as governor from 1979 -1983, the elder statesman who celebrated his 86th birthday recently would have loved to continue to live in his retirement with less worry. But this is not to be. A property he acquired in Enugu about 50 years ago, known as Patson Estate, Independence Layout, is now a source of worry to him and a trial on the reputation he has built over the years, following the legal contention that has arisen over the sale of the land and other allegations against his family.

Nwobodo had allegedly sold part of the land at about N235 million to a Pastor and businessman, Basil Ogbuanu, since 2021, but has been unable to release the title documents to him.  The dispute over the sale of the land, the criminal allegations and the attendant demolition of buildings under construction belonging to Ogbuanu are now a subject of litigation as the businessman has sued the former governor for over N5.8 billion for damages. Nwobodo, on the other hand, sued the business man claiming N1.2 billion in general damages.

Trouble had begun over the land on January 16, this year, when Nwobodo’s wife, Patricia, allegedly went to the estate to plant trees. She was said to have arrived at the place and noticed ongoing construction by Ogbuanu and allegedly hired bulldozers that levelled the buildings under security protection; a development that has elicited public outcries following the scale of construction that went down the drain.

The Guardian gathered that Nwobodo acquired the vast land for the purpose of setting up his Linkana International Hotels in 1976. However, on winning the governorship seat of Anambra State in 1979, he decided to focus on governance, while entrusting the property and others to his Managers.

He was said to have lost part of the property while serving as governor. However, he fought back and recovered some parts of the land. In the course of time, he had decided to parcellate the land to enable him to sell to ideal members of the public.  Ogbuanu was said to have purchased four plots of land from the estate in 2021 and was issued receipts and offer letters by Millennium Construction and Estate Developers Limited, an agent allegedly appointed by Nwobodo to market the property.

In a suit marked E/238/2016, filed by his Counsel, Chukwudi Obieze (SAN), Ogbuanu named plots R/18, R/19, R/20 and R/21 as the ones sold to him, alleging that he made all the payments required of him for the plots, upon which he began the process of formalising the plots in his name.

He stated that before embarking on the construction, he had visited the residence of the former governor with gifts during the 2023 Christmas to inform him of his intention to commence development of the plots of land he purchased from him. He said he received the blessings of Jim and his wife, Patricia, who also promised to make the title documents available to him. He added that having waited to no avail for the documents; he commenced construction after obtaining official approval from both the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority and Ministry of Lands.

Ogbuanu stated that he was near completion of the buildings, when on January 16, 2026, Nwobodo’s wife, Patricia, stormed the estate and  allegedly carried out  “illegal and malicious destruction” of the buildings; a development he said inflicted financial losses and mental agony on him.

Ogbuanu further claimed that three of his workers on site were arrested, adding that a day after the incident, he was also arrested at the Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu, enroute to Lagos following a petition sent to the Independence Layout Police Station by Nwobodo.

He said he never suspected any foul play on the transaction until the visit of Patricia and the demolition of his buildings, adding that it was only after the demolition that he understood that the entire land had been transferred to Moss Island, another company allegedly linked to the Nwobodo as the new managers of the estate. He claimed he had been defrauded and asked for justice. He queried the motive for the delay in issuing him with title documents after payments were made several years back.

But Nwobodo also filed a counter suit.  He did not deny receiving money from Ogbuanu for the plots of land he purchased from the estate. He said as of the time he acquired the land, Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) was not in operation. He said he only got a building lease which enabled him to own the property.

Nwobodo claimed that while he was busy with governance, those he entrusted with the management of the land stole from it and left him with a tiny portion. He said he started to recover what was left when he left office as governor. He said after the recovery, the land was transferred to Moss Island, who started parcellating it and gave it the name Paston Estate. He had thereafter appointed some agents to market the plots, with a caveat that no plot should be sold to miscreants.

He disclosed that when Basil through his cousin Amaka Igwe, a lawyer purchased land at the estate, he had told them that the title documents could not be signed at that time for the fact that the title required recertification in order to get C of O.  He said that  the subdivided plots would be issued with leases as the format and contents of deed of subleases for an estate was different from that of standalone plot; adding that they had arranged for an architectural land layout designs for the  estate, which had been submitted for approval at  the ministry of lands and Enugu Capital Development Authority. He said he asked them to exercise patience.

Nwobodo added that Ogbuanu later resurfaced and “deceived” them into signing power of attorney relating to the land in the guise that he borrowed the money for the land from a bank and that the bank required him to show evidence of what he did with the money.

Nwobodo added that soon after he signed the documents Ogbuanu disappeared, only to resurface to start erecting structures on the land against their earlier advice for him to wait for the authentication of the land titles.

He alleged that his wife, Patricia had gone to the estate with some experts on January 16 to plant trees and were detained and beaten by workers brought by Ogbuanu for several hours, only to be rescued by police. He alleged that he and his wife later sought medical support following the trauma they passed through in the hands of the workers and thugs working for Ogbuanu.

This development led to the suit filed at an Enugu Magistrate Court by the Commissioner of Police on behalf of Mrs. Nwobodo against Ogbuanu and three of his workers, alleging conspiracy and unlawful deprivation of her (Mrs Nwobodo’s) liberty.

Specifically, the police had charged the men with unlawfully confining and detaining Mrs. Nwobodo against her will for two hours at Patson Estate in Independence Layout, Enugu. Those charged with Ogbuanu were Eze Patrick Muoneke, Arinze Onoja and Sedro Theodore. These charges were brought under Sections 496 (a) and 316 of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, of the revised laws of Enugu state.

The Enugu Magistrate’s Court, where the matter was brought had last month struck it out, following the inability of Mrs. Nwobodo to prosecute it. The court had also awarded N1 million against her for her persistent absence since the matter was filed in January this year.

His Worship, D.K Ekoh, who delivered the ruling, had lambasted the conduct of the complainants, saying it was a clear indication of their lack of desire to prosecute the matter.

“A Complainant whose complaint was investigated and to her knowledge is aware of the charge preferred against the Defendants, but decides to stay in her luxury home without prosecuting her complaint, should as well pay damages to the person(s) she wrongfully complained against,” the Magistrate stated.

He, therefore, struck out the matter and awarded N1 million cost against Mrs. Nwobodo and ordered that the defendants must not be re-arrested on the strength of the same complaints.

Meanwhile, with the collapse of the suit, Ogbuanu has filed a fresh suit against Mrs. Nwobodo at the Enugu State High Court, seeking N10 billion in exemplary damages over allegations of malicious falsehood and illegal police orchestration.

He claimed that the police proceeded with the charges without conducting a mandatory or thorough investigation into the veracity of the claims by Mrs. Nwobodo.

A writ of summons dated May 4, 2026, urges Mrs. Nwobodo to enter an appearance within 42 days of service. Failure to comply, the court warned, could result in a judgment being delivered in her absence.

Ogbuanu stated that the exemplary damages is intended to compensate for the emotional and reputational damage caused by setting the machinery of the Nigeria Police Force against him based on allegedly false information.

Furthermore, the businessman is seeking an order of perpetual injunction to restrain Mrs. Nwobodo or her agents from further making, “false and malicious allegations” against him to the police or any other enforcement agency. Date of hearing on the matter has not been fixed.

Since the matter came to public glare following the massive destruction carried out in the estate, residents have continued to express worry over land issues in the state. Tongues are wagging  on why plots in the estate should be put up for sale when the authorising documents have not been procured and how long it would take for the documents to be perfected and those who acquired land be allowed to develop.

Can the court provide solutions to it or would it be settled at the community level? Was there really intent to defraud, given the length of time payment on the land was made?  While Ogbuanu is not prepared to lose the money he invested in the estate, Nwobodo seems not ready to continue in the land deal. The estate, which currently lies in the heart of Enugu, has lain without development since it was acquired. It was learnt that at a time, the administration of Sullivan Chime revoked the property. The administration, however, failed to cause development in the area. The revocation order was, however, cancelled under the immediate past administration of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the property restored to Nwobodo. Obviously, only time will address the several questions begging for answer with regard to the property.