In 2022, Adetoun Adeojo, a Lagos-based woman, paid the sum of N35 million to David Amoye, the owner of Whitegate Homes, for a piece of land in Lekki, but she has yet to be declared the rightful owner of the land.

Adeojo told FIJ that shortly after purchasing the piece of land, she was informed it was on the path the government had marked for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. If she had begun to construct a structure on the land, it would have been demolished alongside other structures in April.

“I paid him about N16 million for it, and when I was told about the consequences of erecting a structure on it, I told him I did not want the land again and requested my money. He refused to refund me and assured me he would give me a piece of land elsewhere. I was taken to inspect another land, and I sent more money to acquire it. I paid about N35 million in total,” said Adeojo.

She added that she had to pressure the company to hand her a deed of assignment for the land, but they refused, and she had to pressure Amoye into handing it over to her until he eventually did.

But the struggle for the land acquisition was far from over for her.

“After handing over the deed of assignment to me, they needed to allocate the land and make me the rightful owner of the land, which they refused to do. I kept pleading with them all through 2022,” said Adeojo.

“Nothing was done until I went to report the company to police officers at Panti. That was when he asked me to exercise some patience and assured me he would do what was needed by either giving me the land or returning my money with interest, but I haven’t received anything from him ever since. “

When FIJ contacted Amoye, he told this reporter that Adeojo once used the police to victimise two of his staff, accusing them of murder.

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“When we discovered the first land she paid for was on the path of the place the government had marked for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, I asked her if she wanted a refund, but she said she wanted another land. We refunded as many people as possible and were willing to refund her.

“Fortunately for us, we found another piece of land. She indicated interest and paid the balance. But I was unaware that the person who sold the land had previously sold it to someone else. She kept lying about it until I involved the EFCC and she confessed.

He added that he informed Adeojo about the issue he had encountered with the company that sold him the land.

“I informed Mummy [referring to Adeojo] about all of it. One day, I received a call informing me that two of my staff had been arrested and were detained in Panti. When I went there, I heard it was Mrs. Adeojo who orchestrated the arrest. They were accused of murder and spent four nights in police custody,” he told FIJ.

FIJ asked Adeojo if it was true that Amoye offered to refund her, and she said he was lying.