Ghanaian Investors, Protesters Storm Ghanian High Commission, Allege Intimidation by Police, EFCC

A large group of Ghanaian investors and concerned citizens staged a protest at the Ghanian High Commission in Abuja on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, demanding justice over what they claim is an ongoing pattern of harassment and rights violations by Nigerian security agencies.

The demonstration, which was organized by James Clark, was aimed at providing a safe environment for foreign businesses to thrive within Nigeria. 

He alleged that the Nigerian Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have consistently targeted them with intimidation tactics, including arbitrary arrests and baseless summons.

“Our businesses are being hounded at every turn,” said Kojo Mensah, a lead developer in the River Park Estate project in Abuja.

According to the protesters, these aggressive actions have persisted despite their past cooperation with authorities to resolve the matter, dating back to 2012.

“We’ve been arrested arbitrarily, summoned without cause, and subjected to endless interrogations, yet the very complaints we cooperated to resolve back in 2012 remain buried in some dusty file,” Mensah added.

The crowd carried placards bearing messages like “Hands Off Ghanaian Investors!” and “Tinubu, Mahama: Intervene Now!” urging the Nigerian and Ghanaian Presidents, Bola Tinubu and John Mahama, to urgently step in and end what they described as a campaign of intimidation.

Their protest comes shortly after a suit tagged FHC/ABJ/CS/1130/2025 and dated 10th June 2025, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by Jonah Capital and other co-plaintiffs.

The suit lists the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the Nigeria Police Force, and the EFCC as defendants.

In the court filing, the plaintiffs are seeking a perpetual injunction to bar both agencies from any further involvement in the River Park Estate dispute.

They are also demanding the public release of a long-awaited report from the Special Investigation Panel (SIP). They are requesting N200 million in damages over alleged violations of their constitutional rights.

Beyond the legal relief, the plaintiffs say the case represents a broader push to protect foreign investments in Nigeria.

“The suit is not just about compensation,” their legal team said. “It’s about safeguarding investor confidence and ending what we see as state-sponsored harassment of legitimate businesses.”

The amended suit further alleges that although the SIP had completed its probe and submitted a report to the Inspector General, the findings were never shared with the investors. Instead, the investors claim that a senior officer from the IG’s Monitoring Unit has unilaterally reopened the investigation.

“Instead,” the court filing states, “a senior officer in the IG’s Monitoring Unit has unilaterally reopened the investigation, purportedly to undermine the SIP’s clear exoneration of our companies.” The protestors maintain that without swift intervention, such actions could deter future investments in Nigeria and sour diplomatic relations between the two West African countries.