ACP SAYS LAWYER FRIEND TURNED HER IKORODU HOUSE INTO FACTORY

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Braide, has told the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja how her lawyer friend allegedly converted her residential property in Ikorodu into a factory and used documents linked to the property to obtain a loan from the Bank of Industry.

Braide gave the testimony on Tuesday while appearing as a prosecution witness before Justice Hakeem Oshodi. She said her relationship with the defendant, Chinwe Onuoha, changed after she discovered what had happened to her property.

Onuoha is facing a 12-count charge alongside others said to be at large, involving alleged conspiracy, forgery and uttering of false documents.

The prosecution alleged that Onuoha forged a lease agreement dated February 12, 2018, and presented it to the Bank of Industry to secure a loan using Braide’s property without her consent.

Braide told the court that she had known Onuoha since 2011 and considered her a close family friend. She said that in 2019, she helped Onuoha after she was detained following a dispute with her landlord and offered her temporary accommodation at her four-bedroom house in Ikorodu.

According to the police officer, the three-month arrangement eventually lasted for more than a year. She said she later requested the property in 2021 because her brother’s family needed it due to insecurity in her home state.

Braide said that after Onuoha eventually moved out, they stopped communicating regularly.

She told the court that in January 2022, she visited the property with her driver and some elders and was shocked to find that the building had been converted into a factory.

According to her, the internal walls and partitions had been removed, while heavy-duty machines, electrical wires and pipes had been installed throughout the house. She said workers were also living on the premises and identified the business as “Shearwater Factory.”

Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until November 10, 2026, for the defence to cross-examine the witness.