Lawyer petitions Mutfwang, seeks investigation into seal-off of client’s property

An Abuja-based lawyer, Mr Bala Dakum, has petitioned Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Ppateau over the seal-off of his client’s hospitality and tourism company, Delavender Apartments and Suites.

The lawyer, in a letter dated Nov. 11 and acknowledged by the governor’s office on Nov. 12, sought an investigation into the forceful close down of the property by the Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB).

The certified true copy of the letter was made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja.

Dakum expressed surprise that inspite of the submission of all required documents and payment of all corresponding processing fees to JMDB by Delavender Apartments to regularise the building documentation in line with the executive order issued by the governor, the property was sealed off.

It reads: “We continue to act as solicitors to Mr. Solomon Obodeh and on whose behalf and instructions we petition you.

“Our client briefed us thus;

“That he is one of the owners of the property known as Delavender Apartments and Suites situated at No. 42, Shinco Road, Jos.

“That the said property situates at 42, Shinco Road, Jos was purchased by our client in 2019 and construction completed in 2024.

“That while the land belongs to our client, Delavender Apartments is a successful business partnership with relatives living in the diaspora.

“That at a time when government aligns globally to woo investors, the reverse seems to be the case as the sealing of Delavender Apartments was premeditated for the following reasons;

“That the long persecution of our client for about two years by the Chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS), Mr Jim Pam Wayas, birthed this unfortunate scenario.

“That every business interest of our client on the Plateau has been targeted by the Chairman, PSIRS.

“That our client wrote JMDB on 6th November, 2025 appealing that the premises be unsealed.

“However, our client was informally informed that the order was from Your Excellency.

“That our client finds the claim of the G.M (General Manager), JMDB off record that the order to seal the apartment was given by His Excellency as spurious as HIS Excellency is too refined. learned and sophisticated to stoop so low in such a petty manner.”

Dakum said a petition had, earlier, been written to the governor on Nov. 7 through the law firm of Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, articulating the alleged anomalies but there had been no response.

The lawyer alleged that efforts by the police to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the alleged illegal activities of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) levelled against the board by Obodeh had been frustrated.

The lawyer, therefore, said if nothing is done to their complaints, a petition would be written to the office of the National Security Adviser for comprehensive investigation of the phone call exchanges between the PSIRS chairman, PEPSA DG and JMDB GM and a harmonisation of the case files with the police, ICPC and DSS.

“Your Excellency, a golden opportunity once again presents itself to silence critics and restore public confidence in the administration,” Dakum concluded.

It would be recalled that Obodeh, through his company, Paben MBC Ltd, in 2024, petitioned the I-G and ICPC chairman over allegations of harassment, extortions and unlawful impoundment of vehicles under the guise of implementation of the Single Inter-State Road Tax Stickers (SIRTS) and Single Haulage Fee (SHF) by JTB.

The petition had led to investigations by the police with the invitation of some persons, including Wayas.

Responding in a telephone interview, Mr Samuel Dapia, the Director General of Plateau State Environmental Protection and Sanitation Agency (PEPSA), said his official duty had nothing to do with property development, hence, he was unaware of the sealing of the apartments.

When the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Gyang Bere, was contacted, he said he was yet to see the two petitions written by the Keyamo and Dakum ‘s law firms.

He, therefore, asked that copies of the petitions be forwarded to his phone WhatsApp.

Bere, then, directed the reporter to Mr Hart Bankat, General Manager (GM), Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB), for clarification.

Bankat, in a phone chat, denied the allegations that the sealing of the apartments was as a result of Solomon Obodeh’s persecution.

The GM of JMDB alleged that Obodeh built Delavender Apartments and Suites without necessary approval.

He said the management of the apartments was served with a prior notice in 2024 before the property was sealed off on Nov. 3.

According to him, if there is any thing I don’t tolerate is misinformation.

“When he (Obodeh) came for the presentation, did he show you the documents he has? ” he asked.

Bankat said there is a procedure for building and that development control is the same everywhere.

“So there is nothing like putting sentiment into the whole thing.

“He built without approval, and he was given prior notices last year, and he is claiming that he is in the process of validating his papers.

“How did he open and start operating the building? Where does this happen?

“And then when government tells you that you cannot operate the building, come and regularise, then the first thing you do is you run to media and say you have been persecuted?

“Did he do the right thing? Did he show you the documents of the land he has? Did he show you the approval he was giving to build that building?

“So, when he shows you all those things and can be able to justify it, then he can say it’s a persecution.

“As far as I can tell you, it’s an illegal building,” he said.

He said from their records, the building did not have approval.

“So we don’t care what he is doing with who or what story he has with who; that’s his business.

“If he has approval, he should show us. It’s as simple as that,” the GM said.

On the allegation that the property was sealed off at the instruction of Mr Jim Wayas, Chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS), Bankat described the allegation as laughable.

“How can the chairman of PSIRS, a fellow appointee and colleague of mine, give directives?

“They are two different institutions; Internal Revenue is different from Development Control and Urban Development.

“They are different institutions. He is doing his own with revenue, I am doing my own with what I can do.There’s no crossing of lines with that one.

“So, there’s difference between Revenue Collection and Urban Development,” he clarified.

On what step Obodeh should take for the property to be unsealed, the GM said he should come to JMDB’s office with his documents.

“He should go and do the right thing.

“Since the place was sealed, did he come to the office?

“He can’t come to the office because he knows he’s lying.

“If he has the facts, he should come to the office now and say, he has this documents, he was given approval to do this, he was given approval to do that, but his property was sealed wrongly.

“Why is he running to the media? Why is he looking for media hype?

“He should come to the office and present his documents.

“Your property was closed since 3rd of November and you have not been to the office since then but you could run to a lawyer’s office in Abuja to write a petition.

“So if he’s honest, he should come to the office now. It’s a public office, nobody is going to harass him.

“Let him come and do the needful,” Bankat said.