A senior legal practitioner, Dr Wahab Shitu (SAN), has decried the unlawful sealing, vandalisation and continued harassment of tenants at Maina Plaza in Abuja where his Chambers is located, following unpaid Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) debt.
To this end, the Senior Advocate has petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
In his petition titled: “The Unlawful Sealing and Continued Harassment of Tenants At Maina Plaza” and dated July 7, 2025, Shittu lamented that he is constrained by the current state of impunity and lawlessness orchestrated by 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.
Shittue also called on the security agency to order the immediate withdrawal of police operatives from Maina Plaza.
The petition reads in part; “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; Luzoil & Energy Resources Ltd.; Masonary Limited; Baajell Integrated Services Limited; Lamanko Nig, Limited; Tower Assets Mgt. 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.
Shittu further traced the origin of the dispute between an alleged commercial debt owed by Maina Ventures, the property owner, to the 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 vandalization 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.
“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”.
Shittu is therefore asking the AGF, IGP, NSA to use their good offices to order the immediate withdrawal of police operatives from Maina Plaza.
The Senior Advocate is seeking for the following reliefs:
” To ensure full compliance with the subsisting orders of both the Federal High Court and Magistrate Court
“To direct an independent and transparent investigation into the role of AMCON and officers of the Nigeria Police Force in these unlawful acts;
“To 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’.
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