Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi
THE
Ife kingmakers, on Saturday, said they have not received any petition
against Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi, one of the contenders for the vacant
stool of the Ooni of Ife.
Speaking during a telephone chat with Sunday Tribune, the Obalufe of Iremo, who is the prime minister of the historical town, Oba Solomon Omisakin, said “I can tell you that up till now, we have not received a petition from any quarter, either a body or an individual, against Ogunwusi.”
He said further that, “I just read it in the newspaper on Friday just like anybody. But, we as a body of kingmakers, have not got any petition against him”.
Speaking on whether all the contenders from Giesi Ruling House would be subjected to any form of scrutiny, Omisakin said “when we get to the meeting, we would decide on which modalities to follow in screening the contestants. I don’t want to go into details for now”.
He, however, assured that the kingmakers would announce the new Ooni designate as soon as all processes regarding the selection were completed, stressing that Ife people should be patient so that all necessary things would be done to ensure the emergence of a credible and acceptable monarch for the town.
The report that one of the princes vying for the Ooni of Ife stool, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) became rife during the week, culminating in the report published by Punch on Friday, 2 September.
Prince Ogunwusi, who is of the Giesi Ruling Housing, which has been favoured by the kingmakers to produce the successor to the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who joined his ancestors on 29 July, 2015, was alleged to have, through his firm, Metropole Interproject Limited, had reportedly forged different documents to convert a landed property belonging to Sijuwade Holdings Limited, one of the companies of the late Ooni of Ife.
But Mr Ogunwusi has reacted swiftly to the allegations, noting that his detractors were only targeting him with such malicious accusations because of his interest in the Ife throne.
The Ife prince, in his reaction to enquiry about the allegations by a national newspaper, queried why the petitioners waited till when he is contesting for the throne to raise the issue, noting that the issues were false and had been resolved.
The chambers of Rotimi Jacobs & Co., had initiated a petition dated 7 September, 2015, in which it raised allegations of forgery and fraud against Ogunwusi and Metropole, revealing how Messrs Sijuwade Holdings Limited had maintained that it purchased a parcel of land that measured 30,000 square metres from the Ojomu Chieftaincy Family at the Lekki peninsula, Lagos in 1993 and duly obtained the Governor’s Consent to the transaction.
The legal practitioners further stated that Sijuwade Holdings had, after the purchase, entered into an agreement with Metropole Interproject Limited to sand-fill parcel of land, after which an agreement was entered into by the two parties, which empowered Metropole to be given 7,500 square metres from the land as its “company’s fees” after it must have completed the sand-filling project.
Following the completion of the sand-filling of the land, the petition noted that Metropole had offered to develop the remaining portion of land for SHL and that the offer reportedly accepted with the condition that the development would be in phases.
The petition maintained that as stated in the Development Mandate Agreement, Metropole was to undertake the responsibilities of funding of the development and procurement of all necessary permits from the federal and Lagos State governments and the the funding/construction of 24 duplex units on the 7,500 square metres, which was to form the basis of Metropole’s equity in the project and it was to be entitled to 16 units out of the 24.
The petition read in part: “Our client (Sijuwade Holdings) gave Mr. Ogunwusi the title document (which was in our client’s name), including the tax clearance of two directors to process the necessary permits required for the construction. After the completion of phase 1, our client requested copies of the approvals and consent, but Mr. Ogunwusi refused to provide them.
“Our client engaged the services of a town planner (TG Marchnata) to conduct a search at the offices of the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority. The town planner got copies of all the documents submitted by Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole for the purposes of procuring the building permits for the construction.
“To our client’s surprise, the search revealed that Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole had forged the title documents by superimposing the name of Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the parcel of land. The signature of Professor Olawoyin, SAN, who prepared the title document, was also forged by Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole.
“Mr. Ogunwusi also submitted a forged Certificate of Incorporation with the name: Metropole Interproject & Sijuwade Holdings Limited. He also forged some documents belonging to the Lagos State Government and uttered same to the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority.”
“Apart from the forgery earlier complained about, Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole has also sold the eight duplex units that ought to have accrued to our client and he converted the proceeds, running into N400m, to his personal use.”
It was on the ground of these allegations that the petitioner asked the anti-graft agency to investigate the circumstances, under which the title documents were allegedly forged.
Sunday Tribune findings showed that the EFCC moved into action by writing to the legal firm of Olawoyin & Olawoyin to confirm if it, indeed, prepared the agreement allegedly submitted by Metropole for the building permits, though sources within the commission, who pleaded for anonymity, said the EFCC was yet to invite any of the parties in the petition.
The sources informed that they could not volunteer more information on the case, but noted that the commission is yet to invite anyone.
Sunday Tribune obtained a letter written to the legal chambers of Olawoyin & Olawoyin, with reference No, CR: 3000/LS/EGC-1/VOL. 6/409 dated September 17, 2015 and signed by Abubakar R. Madaki on behalf of the Head of Operations, in which the EFCC noted that the request was made pursuant to Section 38 (1) (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004; and Section 21 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2012.
In its response to the EFCC’s request, Olawoyin & Olawoyin, in a letter dated September 23, 2015, denied preparing the reportedly forged agreement, pointing out different aspects of the agreement it prepared and the one that Metropole reportedly paraded.
The legal firm’s response stated: “We wish to state that the agreement (a copy of which was attached to your letter under reference) was NOT prepared by our firm. We have taken the liberty to attach to this letter a copy of the actual document that was prepared by our firm and draw your attention to the following differing aspects of the agreement: (a) The front page of the agreement attached to your letter contains Metropole Interproject Limited as a party to the agreement of sale, while in the actual document prepared by our firm, Metropole Interproject Limited is not a party.
(b) The signature on the front page of the actual document prepared by our firm is that of the undersigned, Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin, SAN, while the signature attached to the front page of the document attached to your letter is NOT that of Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin.
(c) Page 1 of the agreement prepared by our firm does NOT make any reference to Metropole Interproject Limited, while the document attached to your letter makes reference to Metropole Interproject Limited.”
Olawoyin, it was gathered, confirmed his firm’s response to the EFCC’s request to a national daily but refused to comment further on the issue.
Mr Rotimi Jacobs of Rotimi Jacobs & Co. also confirmed that his firm sent the petition to the EFCC on behalf of Sijuwade Holdings but also declined to comment further.
However, Ogunwusi, who insiders confirm is in the frontline among the contestants for the throne, is not sweating over the petition, which he noted the issues it raised had been solved, adding that he was only being maliciously targeted because of his interest in the throne.
Attempts to get him to respond were abortive. But in his reaction to similar enquiries from a national daily, Ogunwusi stated that he did not put Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the affected property, saying: “Why are they trying to write damaging reports about me now and why not two, three years ago? The heart of man is full of wickedness. What they are saying is a lie; we have resolved it. They are using it to smear my name. It is a lie that I put Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the land; they are trying to expose what they are not; if they chose to fight dirty, I will meet them.”
However, stakeholders in Ile-Ife, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, warned the kingmakers to be cautious at this point so as not to make a mistake in the selection of the next Ooni given the sacredness and importance of the post in Yorubaland and internationally.
One of the sources noted that the kingmakers must follow due diligence on the matter by subjecting other contenders to thorough scrutiny like Ogunwusi, because it will be a catastrophe for an Ooni to be found culpable of criminality. “That post is sacred and it will be a denigration of the values and heritage of the Yorubas if anyone who occupies that throne is traced to corruption,” he said.
He added that it would not augur well for the Yoruba race and Ile-Ife if an occupant of the exalted royal stool, which has become an international institution, is later linked to any corrupt or criminal act, noting that all contenders must be thoroughly investigated and the kingmakers must ensure due process in doing that.
Speaking during a telephone chat with Sunday Tribune, the Obalufe of Iremo, who is the prime minister of the historical town, Oba Solomon Omisakin, said “I can tell you that up till now, we have not received a petition from any quarter, either a body or an individual, against Ogunwusi.”
He said further that, “I just read it in the newspaper on Friday just like anybody. But, we as a body of kingmakers, have not got any petition against him”.
Speaking on whether all the contenders from Giesi Ruling House would be subjected to any form of scrutiny, Omisakin said “when we get to the meeting, we would decide on which modalities to follow in screening the contestants. I don’t want to go into details for now”.
He, however, assured that the kingmakers would announce the new Ooni designate as soon as all processes regarding the selection were completed, stressing that Ife people should be patient so that all necessary things would be done to ensure the emergence of a credible and acceptable monarch for the town.
The report that one of the princes vying for the Ooni of Ife stool, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi, is being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) became rife during the week, culminating in the report published by Punch on Friday, 2 September.
Prince Ogunwusi, who is of the Giesi Ruling Housing, which has been favoured by the kingmakers to produce the successor to the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who joined his ancestors on 29 July, 2015, was alleged to have, through his firm, Metropole Interproject Limited, had reportedly forged different documents to convert a landed property belonging to Sijuwade Holdings Limited, one of the companies of the late Ooni of Ife.
But Mr Ogunwusi has reacted swiftly to the allegations, noting that his detractors were only targeting him with such malicious accusations because of his interest in the Ife throne.
The Ife prince, in his reaction to enquiry about the allegations by a national newspaper, queried why the petitioners waited till when he is contesting for the throne to raise the issue, noting that the issues were false and had been resolved.
The chambers of Rotimi Jacobs & Co., had initiated a petition dated 7 September, 2015, in which it raised allegations of forgery and fraud against Ogunwusi and Metropole, revealing how Messrs Sijuwade Holdings Limited had maintained that it purchased a parcel of land that measured 30,000 square metres from the Ojomu Chieftaincy Family at the Lekki peninsula, Lagos in 1993 and duly obtained the Governor’s Consent to the transaction.
The legal practitioners further stated that Sijuwade Holdings had, after the purchase, entered into an agreement with Metropole Interproject Limited to sand-fill parcel of land, after which an agreement was entered into by the two parties, which empowered Metropole to be given 7,500 square metres from the land as its “company’s fees” after it must have completed the sand-filling project.
Following the completion of the sand-filling of the land, the petition noted that Metropole had offered to develop the remaining portion of land for SHL and that the offer reportedly accepted with the condition that the development would be in phases.
The petition maintained that as stated in the Development Mandate Agreement, Metropole was to undertake the responsibilities of funding of the development and procurement of all necessary permits from the federal and Lagos State governments and the the funding/construction of 24 duplex units on the 7,500 square metres, which was to form the basis of Metropole’s equity in the project and it was to be entitled to 16 units out of the 24.
The petition read in part: “Our client (Sijuwade Holdings) gave Mr. Ogunwusi the title document (which was in our client’s name), including the tax clearance of two directors to process the necessary permits required for the construction. After the completion of phase 1, our client requested copies of the approvals and consent, but Mr. Ogunwusi refused to provide them.
“Our client engaged the services of a town planner (TG Marchnata) to conduct a search at the offices of the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority. The town planner got copies of all the documents submitted by Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole for the purposes of procuring the building permits for the construction.
“To our client’s surprise, the search revealed that Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole had forged the title documents by superimposing the name of Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the parcel of land. The signature of Professor Olawoyin, SAN, who prepared the title document, was also forged by Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole.
“Mr. Ogunwusi also submitted a forged Certificate of Incorporation with the name: Metropole Interproject & Sijuwade Holdings Limited. He also forged some documents belonging to the Lagos State Government and uttered same to the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority.”
“Apart from the forgery earlier complained about, Mr. Ogunwusi/Metropole has also sold the eight duplex units that ought to have accrued to our client and he converted the proceeds, running into N400m, to his personal use.”
It was on the ground of these allegations that the petitioner asked the anti-graft agency to investigate the circumstances, under which the title documents were allegedly forged.
Sunday Tribune findings showed that the EFCC moved into action by writing to the legal firm of Olawoyin & Olawoyin to confirm if it, indeed, prepared the agreement allegedly submitted by Metropole for the building permits, though sources within the commission, who pleaded for anonymity, said the EFCC was yet to invite any of the parties in the petition.
The sources informed that they could not volunteer more information on the case, but noted that the commission is yet to invite anyone.
Sunday Tribune obtained a letter written to the legal chambers of Olawoyin & Olawoyin, with reference No, CR: 3000/LS/EGC-1/VOL. 6/409 dated September 17, 2015 and signed by Abubakar R. Madaki on behalf of the Head of Operations, in which the EFCC noted that the request was made pursuant to Section 38 (1) (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004; and Section 21 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2012.
In its response to the EFCC’s request, Olawoyin & Olawoyin, in a letter dated September 23, 2015, denied preparing the reportedly forged agreement, pointing out different aspects of the agreement it prepared and the one that Metropole reportedly paraded.
The legal firm’s response stated: “We wish to state that the agreement (a copy of which was attached to your letter under reference) was NOT prepared by our firm. We have taken the liberty to attach to this letter a copy of the actual document that was prepared by our firm and draw your attention to the following differing aspects of the agreement: (a) The front page of the agreement attached to your letter contains Metropole Interproject Limited as a party to the agreement of sale, while in the actual document prepared by our firm, Metropole Interproject Limited is not a party.
(b) The signature on the front page of the actual document prepared by our firm is that of the undersigned, Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin, SAN, while the signature attached to the front page of the document attached to your letter is NOT that of Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin.
(c) Page 1 of the agreement prepared by our firm does NOT make any reference to Metropole Interproject Limited, while the document attached to your letter makes reference to Metropole Interproject Limited.”
Olawoyin, it was gathered, confirmed his firm’s response to the EFCC’s request to a national daily but refused to comment further on the issue.
Mr Rotimi Jacobs of Rotimi Jacobs & Co. also confirmed that his firm sent the petition to the EFCC on behalf of Sijuwade Holdings but also declined to comment further.
However, Ogunwusi, who insiders confirm is in the frontline among the contestants for the throne, is not sweating over the petition, which he noted the issues it raised had been solved, adding that he was only being maliciously targeted because of his interest in the throne.
Attempts to get him to respond were abortive. But in his reaction to similar enquiries from a national daily, Ogunwusi stated that he did not put Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the affected property, saying: “Why are they trying to write damaging reports about me now and why not two, three years ago? The heart of man is full of wickedness. What they are saying is a lie; we have resolved it. They are using it to smear my name. It is a lie that I put Metropole Interproject Limited as a co-owner of the land; they are trying to expose what they are not; if they chose to fight dirty, I will meet them.”
However, stakeholders in Ile-Ife, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, warned the kingmakers to be cautious at this point so as not to make a mistake in the selection of the next Ooni given the sacredness and importance of the post in Yorubaland and internationally.
One of the sources noted that the kingmakers must follow due diligence on the matter by subjecting other contenders to thorough scrutiny like Ogunwusi, because it will be a catastrophe for an Ooni to be found culpable of criminality. “That post is sacred and it will be a denigration of the values and heritage of the Yorubas if anyone who occupies that throne is traced to corruption,” he said.
He added that it would not augur well for the Yoruba race and Ile-Ife if an occupant of the exalted royal stool, which has become an international institution, is later linked to any corrupt or criminal act, noting that all contenders must be thoroughly investigated and the kingmakers must ensure due process in doing that.
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