Real estate firm, Obatop Properties Limited, has demanded N1 billion in damages from the Ogun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluwasina Ogungbade, over alleged defamation said to have tarnished the company’s corporate image.
The company, in a letter issued on its behalf by Palmstars Solicitors and dated April 4, 2025, said a press conference held last week at the Attorney General’s office in Abeokuta portrayed the firm as fraudulent.
Recall that the Ogun State Government, through the AG’s office, had warned members of the public against purchasing land allegedly acquired illegally by the company through the Fibiwoga family in the Odogbolu Local Government Area of the state.
The AG, in a statement, said: “Obatop Properties Limited has no land to develop, assign, allot, or administer in the described area.
“Any person who deals with either entity or any other private person regarding the land does so at their own peril and the risk of a firm government response.”
Reacting to the government’s position, Obatop Properties said it legally acquired 20 hectares of land from the Fibiwoga family, adding that the land is free from any government acquisition.
The letter reads, “Our client informed us that your press conference, widely circulated and published in online national newspapers, disparaged our client as a fraudulent company allegedly working in connivance with the Fibiwoga family and land grabbers.”
The company further claimed that the fallout from the AG’s statement had led to over 100 local and international phone calls, with many clients and prospective buyers demanding refunds over fears of being scammed.
“The publications have badly impacted our client’s business, which has over the years conducted itself in a legitimate and responsible manner. Some of those demanding refunds are not even linked to the land in question,” the firm stated.
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Consequently, Obatop Properties is demanding an “unreserved retraction” of the alleged defamatory statement, to be published in no fewer than seven widely read national newspapers, including The PUNCH, within 48 hours of receiving the letter.
Failure to meet the demand, according to the legal team, would leave the company with “no choice but to seek redress in a competent court of law and claim the sum of N1 billion in special and exemplary damages.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Ogun State Ministry of Justice had yet to respond publicly to the allegations or the threat of legal action.
