[LETTER TO THE IGP] Vandalisation, and Continued Harassment of Tenants at Maina Plaza, Plot 1091 Herbert Macaulay Way, Central Business District, Abuja: A Desperate Plea for Intervention

IGP Kayode Egbetokun

I act on behalf of our firm (W. K. Shittu SAN & Co.), Management Edge Limited; Belbella Limited; New Age Network Limited; Alfred & Darnley Solicitors; Mabiz Global Nig. Ltd; Wichtech Industries Limited; Luzoi]l & Energy Resources Ltd.; Masonary Limited; Baajell Integrated Services Limited; Lamanko Nig, Limited;Tower Assets Magt. Limited; Adewole Adebayo & Co. House of Law; Gemsmart Homes Limited; Apib Korea Medical Equipment Supply Company Limited and other lawful tenants of business premises located at PLOT 1091 Herbert Macaulay Way, Central Business District, Abuja (hereinafter referred to as Our Clients.

I have the honour to write in my capacity as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and, more directly, as one of the tenants of Maina Plaza, where my chamber is located at Suite C17, 2nd Floor, at Plot 1091, Herbert Macaulay Way, Central Business District, Abuja.

I am constrained by the current state of impunity and lawlessness being orchestrated by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in active connivance with operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, in flagrant violation of subsisting court orders, statutory rights of tenants, and the fundamental tenets of due process.

The entire episode traces its origin to an alleged commercial debt owed by Maina Ventures, the property owner, to FCMB. The said debt was acquired by AMCON and is now the subject of a pending suit before the Honourable Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The case is listed as AMCON vs. Maina Ventures Ltd (Suit No: FHC/CS/ABJ/545/2015. The other suit on the same subject matter is: Suit ABJ/AMC/2024 AMCON vs Maina Ventures Ltd & 3 ORS before Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite.

In the course of proceedings, His Lordship issued an express order that tenants lawfully occupying the plaza must not be disturbed in the conduct of their businesses, nor ejected pending the determination of the case.

Despite the clarity of the court’s directive, on 25th April 2025, elements believed to be acting at the behest of AMCON invaded the plaza and dumped truckloads of sand at all access points main and rear entrances—effectively barricading the premises..Worse still, they vandalised the electric circuit board and cables, plunging the building into darkness and disrupting businesses for two weeks. The vandalisation also included armored cables, fiber optic cable, water system and the transformer.

Tenants, acting lawfully and peacefully, cleared the obstruction and resumed operations under the shield of the subsisting court order.

On 23rd June 2025, however, the matter deteriorated. Armed operatives of the Nigeria Police Force descended on the premises in overwhelming numbers. Relying on an ex parte order issued in Suit No. MN/WZ6/145/2025: IGP v. Kabiru Sulaimon Chafe, by Magistrate Ekpenyong Inyang Okon, sitting at Wuse Zone 6 Magistrates Court, the police forcefully sealed the plaza and ejected every tenant without notice. Let it be emphasised: none of the tenants is a party to the said proceedings, and the action was taken in spite of the earlier order of the Federal High Court protecting their rights.

On 30th June 2025, upon being properly seized of the facts, the learned Magistrate commendably set aside the ex parte order on the grounds of misrepresentation and concealment by the complainants. The said order has been duly served on the police, yet the plaza remains unlawfully sealed and tenants are still being denied access.

Even more egregiously, on 4th July 2025, certain elements once again shielded by officers of the Nigeria Police resumed acts of vandalism, systematically removing interlocking stones, toilet seats, urinals, and fittings from the premises in what is clearly a campaign of intimidation and psychological warfare, aimed at breaking the will of tenants and forcibly vacating the premises.

Sir, this is not only a shameful abuse of police powers, it constitutes a criminal contempt of court orders, a violation of property and commercial rights, and a direct assault on the dignity of tenants who are blameless in the underlying financial dispute.

The conduct of AMCON and its agents, acting in concert with police operatives (acting illegally in defiance of court orders), is symptomatic of a creeping culture of impunity.
It sends a dangerous message: that lawful court orders can be flouted; that legitimate businesses can be crippled without consequence; and that the police the very institution tasked with upholding law and order can become tools for commercial coercion.

We therefore humbly but firmly urge your distinguished office to:
1. Order the immediate withdrawal of police operatives from Maina Plaza;
2, Ensure full compliance with the subsisting orders of both the Federal High Court and Magistrate Court;
3. Direct an independent and transparent investigation into the role of AMCON and officers of the Nigeria Police Force in these unlawful acts;
4. Ensure accountability for all persons who have participated in the vandalisation, sealing, and harassment of tenants in defiance of lawful authority. Please note that as I write, the business premises of all our clients remain shut in defiance of court orders, and unauthorized elements have gained entrance into the business premises, vandalizing assets with a view to forcefully ejecting lawful occupiers of the business premises. This is impunity and lawlessness of the greatest order.

Clearly, this is an attempt to takeover my law firm and other lawful businesses in the premises WITHOUT A COURT ORDER.

Sir, posterity will not be kind to our silence if we fail to act. The image of the Nigerian state must not be one of selective justice, unbridled power, and contempt for the rule of law.

Kindly accept the assurances of my highest professional regards.

Yours faithfully,
Dr. Wahab Shittu, SAN