A Lagos-based real estate syndicate, allegedly led by Lawrence Onwukwem and Isaiah Ijele, has been dragged into fresh controversy following a petition accusing the group of fraud, illegal eviction, and violent intimidation, even as key members remain in hiding after a court conviction.
The syndicate, reportedly operating under the name Green Birch Tech Limited, alongside associates Davies Ijele, Sodiq Kazeem, and Peace Igbo, is accused of defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians through dubious property rental schemes.
In a recent petition, a Lagos resident, Oyinkansola Talabi, accused the group of orchestrating a midnight invasion of her apartment at Pebblerock Apartments in the Oniru area of Lagos State on February 6, 2026.
Talabi, in the petition addressed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu through the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, described the incident as “state-sponsored terror,” alleging that the action violated an existing order of the Lagos State High Court delivered on December 3, 2025, in Suit No: LD10108GCM2025.
The latest allegations mirror earlier complaints by residents of a 16-unit apartment complex in Lekki Phase 1, who had accused the same firm of unlawful entry, theft, harassment, and threats to life.
The property, owned by RAO Investment Property Company Limited, had been leased to Green Birch Tech Limited before disputes arose over the company’s continued occupation of the facility.
Despite a court judgment terminating Green Birch’s tenancy, affected tenants alleged that the firm resorted to acts of intimidation, including disconnection of water and electricity supply and harassment of residents with armed men.
Findings showed that a Lagos Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Eti-Osa had earlier convicted Onwukwem, Ijele, Kazeem, and Igbo for contempt of court.
In the case marked MISC/MCE/07/2023, the court held that the defendants unlawfully evicted a tenant by forcefully breaking into an apartment in Lekki, removing personal belongings, and changing the locks without a valid court order.
Delivering judgment on June 5, 2025, Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Olaiya Doja-Ojo sentenced the defendants to six months’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of N250,000 each for persistently disobeying court orders.
However, checks indicated that only Kazeem is currently serving his sentence at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, while the other convicted persons have reportedly gone into hiding.
One of the victims alleged that while litigation was still ongoing, members of the syndicate broke into their apartment and carted away property valued at about N25 million before re-letting the apartment to another tenant.
Sources familiar with the matter further alleged that Ijele, said to be the Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, may have leveraged political connections to evade arrest.
He was also reported to have recently launched a non-governmental initiative, the Police Integrity Movement, and has appeared on television programmes promoting the group.
Efforts to reach the accused persons for comments were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, stakeholders have called on relevant authorities to enforce court judgments and bring the fleeing suspects to justice, warning that continued impunity could undermine public confidence in the state’s justice system.
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