Olumide ‘Apagun’ Oluwole, a high chief of Egbaland in Ogun State, died by suicide in 2012 following several unsuccessful pleas to then-Governor Ibikunle Amosun not to seize and demolish his properties — a golf resort, 150-room hotel and water parks building— a matter that resurfaced as Chinese expatriates seek to confiscate Nigeria’s assets abroad over a disputed Free Trade Zone deal.

On Sunday, Pat Utomi, a reputable economist, tweeted that Mr Amosun’s disregard for contract terms was habitual, asserting that the Chinese were not the only victims, given that he and one other “prominent Ogun indigene” —who later died by suicide— also suffered similar fates in Mr Amosun’s hands. 

“One prominent Ogun indigene allegedly committed suicide with similar Amosun action. The Chinese were not the only victims,” the economist tweeted.

The deceased indigene was Mr Oluwole, Peoples Gazette has confirmed. He was an ally of Mr Amosun’s predecessor, Gbenga Daniel.

Mr Amosun’s disdain for his predecessor caused him to recklessly revoke contract deals initiated by Mr Daniel, according to Mr Utomi.

On Mr Amosun’s first working day as a governor in 2011, he ordered the demolition of Mr Oluwole’s water park building and the seizure of a 150-room luxury hotel and golf resort.

The then-governor argued that the buildings were erected on illegally acquired lands. Title documents of the golf resort issued by Ogun State Bureau of Lands were also revoked.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) agents further grilled Mr Oluwole about his investments in Ogun State.

The seizure of assets, coupled with the ongoing investigation, may have led the Ogun high chief to plunge and drown in an artificial lake on the resort in March 2012, where local divers found his lifeless body.

Mr Daniel, in a 2012 statement eulogising Mr Oluwole, said the Ogun indigene dedicated twenty years of his life to the golf project seized by Mr Amosun.

“For Apagun, the golf project was his life probably in the last two decades or more, and through this project, he became the single biggest promoter of tourism in the state by the volume of high net worth individuals that visited the state while it lasted,” Mr Daniels said. “Nationally, Apagun designed the National Ecumenical Centre, rated as the best Christian worship centre in Abuja.”

Findings of police investigation into Mr Oluwole’s suicide were not made public.

However, Toyin Banjo, CEO of Oriental Capital & Asset Management Group, echoed the same allegations of contract breach against Mr Amosun.

Mr Banjo claimed that he secured a 25-year deal to “run GATEWAY Mortgage Bank, owned and distressed by the Ogun State government,” but Mr Amosun “crudely” terminated the contract within a month of becoming governor.

“We had taken over the bank, company board seals handed over to us. We had made management appointments,” Mr Banjo said in a statement. “Barely one month after Governor Amosun took over, we were crudely sent a message via his aides that we should exit the bank!”

He asserted that all efforts to make Mr Amosun reconsider the contract termination were unsuccessful as he remained unmoving in the decision.

“Governor Amosun still refused! He actually destroyed Ogun State with his lawless arrogance and destructive politics,” the Oriental asset management company chief wrote.

The comments made by Mr Banjo bolster the growing list of charges of contract violations made against Mr Amosun, which have damaged Nigeria’s standing with other nations. 

Mr Amosun had implicated himself in a statement admitting that he did not take a cursory assessment of facts when he asked a Chinese team to take over the Ogun-Guandong Free Trade Zone in 2012, a move that triggered a protracted legal crisis where aggrieved Chinese investors were seeking to seize Nigerian assets, including its president fleet abroad.

The former governor’s failure to conduct due diligence in reviewing contract terms and brusque withdrawal from signed agreements have caused Nigeria international embarrassment, with President Bola Tinubu fighting tooth and nail to safeguard the nation’s assets from a legal war he did not start.

The president flew to France on Monday in a trip believed to be connected to the seized presidential jets.

Political economist Utomi’s claim of losing a N200 million investment due to Mr Amosun’s highhandedness and vendetta against Mr Daniel was met with a heavy-worded denial.

Mr Amosun rebuffed the allegation, asserting that the economist wanted to entice him with a fake leadership award, which he said he turned down. The award would have cost him N200 million, the former governor said.

The economist denied Mr Amosun’s claim, saying that he hates “the business of bribes” and would not engage in it.

Still, Mr Amosun has been criticised as the source of Nigeria’s confrontation with Chinese investors before international arbitration panels.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect Oluwole as the deceased’s last name.