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Basil Ogbuanu, a Lagos-based businessman, could be on the hook for N20 billion in damages after former Anambra State Governor and ex-Sports Minister Jim Nwobodo filed a defamation suit against him before an Enugu High Court, accusing him of instigating a media campaign that painted him as a fraudster.
The suit, filed through lawyer Chuma Oguejiofor, is supported by an extensive set of court documents: a 20-paragraph affidavit, a 20-paragraph statement of claim, a 22-paragraph statement on oath, an eight-paragraph certificate of compliance, a list of witnesses, and a 15-paragraph statement on oath from Enugu-based lawyer Chris Utazi, named as the principal witness.
The dispute traces back to a parcel of land in Enugu’s Independence Layout — Plot S/10 — which Nwobodo says he acquired in 1976 through his company, Linkana Hotels Ltd, intending to build a hotel and resort. He was elected Anambra State’s first civilian governor in 1980 and stepped away from directly managing his companies during his time in office.
By his account, when he later turned his attention back to the property, he found that more than three-quarters of it had been lost to land grabbers and speculators over the years.
Rather than pursue a fight to reclaim the full parcel, he says he let it go and carved what remained into more than 20 smaller plots, distributing them to buyers.
Four of those plots — R/18, R/19, R/20 and R/21 — went to Ogbuanu, for a total consideration of N235 million, a transaction Nwobodo says he has never denied or disputed.
According to Nwobodo, the land was held under a Deed of Lease dating to 1976, which needed to be converted into a Certificate of Occupancy following the introduction of the Land Use Decree — now the Land Use Act — by the military government in 1978.
He describes this conversion process as time-consuming, and says Ogbuanu was made aware of that reality before he even completed payment for the plots.
Nwobodo also states that for reasons connected to family inheritance planning, the property was at some point moved from Linkana Hotels Ltd into another company, Moss Island Ltd, in which his wife and children also hold shares.
He says Ogbuanu carried out a search at the Lands Registry in Enugu, discovered the name change, and was satisfied with the explanation linking the two companies as effectively one and the same before he paid for the plots — meaning, in Nwobodo’s telling, that Ogbuanu was fully aware of the corporate restructuring before parting with his money.
Nwobodo alleges that although Ogbuanu was given vacant possession of the four plots, he was explicitly advised to hold off on any development until the Certificate of Occupancy for the entire Plot S/10 — from which his plots were carved — had been secured, and until an estate development scheme had cleared the relevant Enugu State government agencies.
Instead, Nwobodo claims Ogbuanu went ahead and began developing the land without approval, reportedly working at night in an effort to avoid drawing government attention. Enugu State authorities eventually discovered the unauthorized construction and demolished the structures.
Ogbuanu and his associates then allegedly accused Nwobodo and his wife of instigating the demolition — an allegation Nwobodo strongly denies, describing it as false and driven by ill intent, and insisting he played no part in it.
In his defense, Nwobodo lists several points he says are beyond dispute: that a genuine land transaction took place between him and Ogbuanu; that Ogbuanu holds documents proving his purchase, regardless of whether the seller of record was Linkana Hotels Ltd or Moss Island Ltd, both of which he says are ultimately controlled by him and his family; that Ogbuanu was given, and remains in, possession of the plots, having gone ahead to develop them despite the disagreement with state authorities; and that he had never hesitated to offer a full refund of the N235 million once the dispute arose — something he argues no fraudster would do.
He further points out that Ogbuanu’s name remains registered against the plots at the Enugu Lands Registry to this day.
Nwobodo claims that after running afoul of the Enugu State government over the unauthorized development, Ogbuanu redirected his frustration toward him, launching what Nwobodo describes as a vicious campaign against him and his wife — both online and, he alleges, through hired hoodlums who confronted his wife during a visit to Plot S/10 on January 16, 2026.
He further points to a petition Ogbuanu allegedly filed against his wife with the Nigerian Bar Association on June 25, 2026, which Nwobodo claims was leaked to the other named defendants, as well as to independent bloggers and online platforms, specifically to damage his standing.
Nwobodo insists the resulting publications, in their ordinary meaning, portrayed him by name as a mean-spirited, petty and dishonest figure who had swindled Ogbuanu out of N235 million while giving nothing in return.
He argues that any reasonable reader encountering the coverage would conclude he was a fraudster, and rejects the defendants’ framing that they were simply reporting on court filings, calling it a cover for what he describes as a coordinated effort to permanently damage his name.
In his sworn statement, Nwobodo — now 86 and one of only two surviving governors from Nigeria’s Second Republic stressed his standing before entering politics, when he says he controlled a number of companies including Links Group Ltd, Jimson Nigeria Ltd, and Linkana Ltd.
He also claims to be among the few Nigerian ex-governors who left office in a worse financial position than when they took it.
Six defendants are named in the suit in total, including ThisDay newspaper, which Nwobodo accuses of running some of the disputed reports at various times.
He is asking the Enugu High Court to grant: An injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or anyone acting on their behalf from publishing or continuing to publish any defamatory or offensive material about him.
An order directing the defendants to retract the publications and issue written public apologies in at least three leading national newspapers, including ThisDay and The Guardian.
N20 billion in damages for libel, to be paid jointly and severally by the defendants.
The suit remains pending before the Enugu High Court.
