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Former Governor of old Anambra State, Senator Jim Nwobodo, has dragged Lagos-based businessman, Basil Ogbuanu, and five others before an Enugu State High Court, demanding N20 billion in damages over alleged defamatory publications arising from a N235 million land transaction.
Nwobodo, a former Minister of Sports and senator who represented Enugu East, is also asking the court to restrain the defendants from further publishing materials he considers defamatory and compel them to retract the disputed publications and apologise to him in at least three national newspapers.
The 86-year-old elder statesman instituted the action through his lawyer, Chuma Oguejiofor, following an escalating dispute with Ogbuanu over four plots of land at Independence Layout, Enugu.
Among those joined in the action are media organisations, including THISDAY Newspapers, which Nwobodo accused of publishing reports that portrayed him as having collected N235 million from Ogbuanu without delivering the property for which the money was paid.
The former governor, however, admitted in his court processes that Ogbuanu paid him N235 million for four plots — R/18, R/19, R/20 and R/21 — carved out of Plot S/10, Independence Layout, Enugu.
He insisted that the transaction was genuine and that Ogbuanu was given possession and documents evidencing the purchase.
Nwobodo’s case is that the dispute arose after Ogbuanu allegedly commenced development on the property despite being advised to wait for the regularisation of the title and approval of the estate scheme.
According to him, the larger Plot S/10 was acquired in 1976 through Linkana Hotels Limited under a deed of lease, before the introduction of the Certificate of Occupancy regime under the Land Use Decree of 1978.
He claimed purchasers in the estate were advised not to begin development until the documentation had been regularised.
Nwobodo said he had also offered to refund Ogbuanu’s N235 million if he was unwilling to wait for the process to be completed.
But he alleged that the businessman went ahead with construction and subsequently ran into trouble with Enugu State government agencies, resulting in the demolition of structures on the property.
The former governor denied instigating the demolition.
He said: “The 1st Defendant was given vacant possession of the plots he paid for, he is still in possession of the plots till date and has even effected improvement on same.”
Nwobodo maintained that whatever disagreement Ogbuanu had with the Enugu State Government and its agencies over development of the property had nothing to do with him.
According to his statement of claim, Ogbuanu subsequently blamed him and his wife for his difficulties and allegedly embarked on publications and other actions that damaged his reputation.
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The dispute escalated further when Ogbuanu petitioned the Nigerian Bar Association on June 25, 2026, against Nwobodo’s wife, Patricia, a lawyer, over her alleged role in the matter.
Nwobodo alleged that the petition and subsequent publications were circulated to media organisations and other platforms as part of a campaign to tarnish his reputation.
He told the court that the publications portrayed him before members of the public as “a mean hearted, petty and wicked fraudster” who had allegedly taken Ogbuanu’s N235 million without giving him anything in return.
Rejecting that portrayal, Nwobodo said the businessman remained registered in the property card for the four plots at the Enugu Lands Registry.
He argued that Ogbuanu’s possession and development of the plots themselves contradicted any suggestion that no property was delivered after payment.
“The 1st Defendant had been given possession of the said Plots R/18–R/21 otherwise where did he build the structures that were allegedly destroyed at my instigation?” he asked.
Nwobodo also placed his reputation and business history before the court, saying he was already a wealthy businessman before entering politics and had interests in companies including Links Group Limited, Jimson Nigeria Limited and Linkana Limited.
He said he acquired Plot S/10 in the highbrow Independence Layout area in 1976 with the original intention of developing a hotel or resort.
According to him, after becoming governor, he turned his attention away from the property and later discovered that more than three-quarters of the original land had allegedly been lost to speculators and land grabbers.
Rather than attempt to recover everything, he said, he subdivided what remained into more than 20 plots, four of which were subsequently sold to Ogbuanu.
Nwobodo contended that reports surrounding the dispute had severely damaged a reputation built over decades in business and public service.
He is consequently asking the court for an injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or persons acting for them from publishing further allegedly defamatory materials against him.
He is also seeking an order compelling the defendants to retract the publications and tender written apologies in at least three leading national newspapers, including THISDAY and The Guardian.
In addition, he is demanding N20 billion in damages jointly and severally from the defendants for alleged libel.
The land dispute and the allegations underlying the libel action are now matters before the courts. No determination has been made on Nwobodo’s claims or on the competing claims arising from the property transaction
