The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched an investigation into Nigerian billionaire Prince Arthur Eze over the alleged unlawful takeover and demolition of a multi-billion-naira estate in Enugu State.
The probe follows a petition accusing Eze and his agents of using “state might,” including armed police personnel and bulldozers, to destroy properties valued at over N1 billion and dispossess lawful owners of land worth approximately N15 billion.
According to the petition, filed with the EFCC’s Enugu Zonal Command on February 5, 2026, the affected property is located at Ayo Railway Station, Centenary City, Enugu. The petitioners claim they held a valid sub-lease agreement signed by Eze in 2019, acting as Chairman of Triax Company Nigeria Limited, which was fully regularized through a Deed of Sub-Lease and an Irrevocable Power of Attorney registered under the Enugu State Geographic Information Service (ENGIS), Registration Number 68/68/562. The property comprises roughly 300 parcelated plots, with a market value exceeding N15 billion, previously registered in the name of the late Hon. Anthony Nvene.
The petitioners alleged that in October 2025, Barrister Chukwudi Oli, acting on Eze’s instructions, led armed personnel to the site to demolish perimeter fences, buildings, and materials without a court order or government revocation notice, causing estimated losses of over N1 billion. They argued that Eze could not lawfully authorize such action without due legal process, raising concerns of fraud and abuse of process.
Responding, Barrister Oli, Eze’s counsel, denied the allegations, calling the petitioners “land grabbers” and “impostors.” He claimed the disputed land (Plots C and D) belongs to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), and that Eze recently secured a new 50-year lease after paying N371 million in August 2025. Oli said the previous 10-year lease from 2015 had expired and that the demolition was conducted under a court order with police protection to clear illegal structures while awaiting formal lease agreements.
Despite these denials, the petitioners maintain that their documents, signed by Eze in 2019, are authentic. The Nvene Association, representing the victims, has called on the EFCC to investigate all parties involved, including financiers and collaborators, and determine how a state-registered property could be forcibly taken over.
