Messrs Qwick Properties have dragged Arise TV owner and GHL oil tycoon, Nduka Obaigbena, to the FCT High Court for allegedly owing over N50 million rent on two semi-detached duplexes since 2023, court filings seen by Peoples Gazette showed.
The company accused Mr Obaigbena of disregarding several notices to pay the rent on two properties since December 2023 and June 2024 which has caused the sum to accumulate to over N50 million.
The duplexes, situated at Houses A & B at 8, Yobe Close Off Yedestram Street, Maitama, Abuja, were leased to Mr Obaigbena in January 2016. He paid his rent promptly until 2022 when he began to miss payment, the property manager said in documents seen by Peoples Gazette.
“That since 31 December 2022, his payment of rent has been very irregular.” That, and the Arise TV owner’s alleged disregard to quit notices, led the property manager to sue him at the FCT High Court, ‘’ Qwick Properties wrote in court filings
Rent of the duplexes was in January 2024 reviewed from N16 million to N25 million which jacked up the annual rent of both properties to N50 million.
The agents gave Mr Obaigbena an option of occupying only one duplex at the rate of N30 million and a discounted rate of N50 million for both properties.
Mr Obaigbena did not respond to the letter but continued to occupy both duplexes, The Gazette understands.
As of June 2024, Mr Obaigbena was owing approximately N50 million on the two properties given that his last rent payment expired in December 2022.
“We have been briefed that you are in arrears of the rent to the tune of N49,500,000 only,” Niran Adetunji & Co, lawyer for the house agents wrote in a letter to Mr Obaigbena. He asked the TV owner to pay into an Access Bank account ending in – 9628.
Still, no payment was made.
The consistent disregard for several notices to quit combined with Mr Obaigbena’s refusal to pay the rent while occupying the duplexes fuelled the agent’s resolve to seek redress in court.
The agent argued that Mr Obaigbena could not continue to hold the two properties to ransom and put his landlord in a “financial tight corner.”
Qwick Properties further said that Mr Obaigbena had lost the respect and trust that the landlord had for a man of his calibre.
Not only was Qwick Properties seeking an order to evict Mr Obaigbena, but the agent also demanded a profit of N2 million and N84,000 for every month Mr Obaigbena occupies the property until he moves out starting from July 2024 on House B and January 2025 on House A.
Mr Obaigbena did not return a comment on the matter, but he filed a Memorandum of Conditional Appearance at the FCT division of the High Court over the rent dispute.
“Kindly cause conditional appearance to be entered for the defendant sued as Chief Nduka Obaigbena,” the Arise TV owner filed on May 19 at the FCT High Court.
Although Peoples Gazette could not immediately verify the basis of his conditional appearance, it seemed the Arise TV owner sought to first challenge the court’s jurisdiction to entertain a rent dispute. If he can prove that the court is not competent to hear the matter, the judge might toss out the case.
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