Uche Ibeto, a musician known as the Jigida Queen, has accused two lawyers and a senior police officer of orchestrating her unlawful eviction from her late mother’s home in Surulere, Lagos.
Ibeto said she was removed from the one-storey building on 36 Ibezim Obiajulu Street on 15 August, adding that the eviction followed a Lagos high court judgment obtained without her knowledge or that of her tenants.
She said the judgment, delivered on 10 July by judge Adewumi-Oshin in suit LD/9481GCM/2025, granted ownership of the property to Cecil Osakwe, who claimed to have purchased it from her sisters.
“Neither I, nor our tenants, were joined as parties to the suit, nor were we served with any court processes,” she said.
She further alleged that Victor Giwa, one of the lawyers representing Osakwe, led police officers, court sheriffs, and “hired thugs” to seize her personal belongings, studio equipment, musical works, and cash she estimated at over N500 million.
She accused Giwa of tendering forged documents, including a contract of sale referencing a certificate of occupancy for unrelated land in Idimu.
She said her sister, Ifeoma Ilodibe, an estate administrator, denied knowledge of the sale.
Ibeto accused her eldest sister, Laura Okoh, and Okoh’s son, Ifeanyin, of collaborating with the lawyers to remove her.
Her lawyers, S.O. Onwubualili & Co., wrote to the Inspector-General of Police on 22 September alleging unlawful interference in the Zone 2 police command’s investigation.
They alleged that Benjamin Okolo, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, obstructed justice and stalled the probe, adding that the property was not listed in the letters of administration granted to the siblings.
They insisted that neither Ibeto nor her tenants were served court processes.
Their petition alleged conspiracy, malicious damage, forgery, impersonation, large-scale fraud, land grabbing, and threats to life, even as they called for urgent intervention by the IGP.
Ibeto also petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, alleging conspiracy, abuse of judicial power, and fraudulent procurement of judgment.
She questioned how a suit seeking possession and ownership could be filed, heard, and decided in under one month.
Her lawyers filed a motion on 22 September seeking to set aside the judgment on grounds of alleged fraud and suppression of facts.
She said the motion, fixed for 4 November, was stalled when the judge informed her lawyers that the case file had been transmitted to the court of appeal.
She asked the CJN and the National Judicial Council to order the return of the case file to the Lagos High Court for hearing before a different judge.
She also asked for an investigation into the speed of the suit and alleged failure of service, noting that the eviction has displaced her and left her with health challenges.
She said the tenants’ properties remain sealed.
Ibeto welcomed the ongoing prosecution of Giwa and Osakwe in an unrelated case in Abuja involving alleged forgery, unlawful eviction, and malicious damage.
Giwa and co-defendant Ibitade Bukola are accused of forging a letter on the letterhead of Awa U. Kalu, SAN. The defendants pleaded not guilty on 8 October.
Giwa told Premium Times that the Surulere property was purchased legitimately from Ifeanyin Okoh, son of the eldest sibling.
He said the late mother instructed the property to be sold and the proceeds shared, adding that Mrs Okoh, as first child, had legal authority to sell the property.
He said Ilodibe also authorised the sale, adding that only one administrator is needed to represent an estate.
He said the judgment that led to the eviction was a consent judgment, accusing Ibeto of withholding the property documents after their mother’s death.
Ilodibe denied consenting to the sale in a petition dated 15 September, adding that she was not aware of any court case or agreement.
She said she learned of the eviction when Ibeto called her from the house and accused Okoh of attempting unilateral sale of the property.