ACP BRAIDE: HOW A LAWYER FRIEND TURNED MY IKORODU HOME INTO A FACTORY

What began as a close friendship between an Assistant Commissioner of Police and a lawyer has become a courtroom battle involving an Ikorodu property, an alleged forged lease agreement, a Bank of Industry loan and a residential building that the police officer says she discovered had been transformed into a factory.

Before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Tuesday, ACP Ngozi Braide narrated how she accommodated her lawyer friend, Chinwe Onuoha, after helping her secure bail from police custody, only to later return to the property and allegedly find that her four-bedroom home had been converted into what she described as “Shearwater Factory.”

Braide was giving evidence as a prosecution witness before Justice Hakeem Oshodi.

The defendant, Onuoha, is facing a 12-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and uttering of false documents, alongside other persons said to be at large.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the allegations against Onuoha remain before the court. She has pleaded not guilty, and the prosecution must establish its case beyond the required legal standard before any allegation can become a criminal conviction.

‘SHE WAS LIKE A FAMILY MEMBER’

Braide told the court that she met Onuoha in 2011 and that their relationship developed into a close friendship. According to the police officer, the relationship went beyond ordinary acquaintance. “She was like a family member,” Braide told the court.

She said Onuoha visited her home, sometimes stayed for days and even travelled abroad with her family.

The relationship, she said, remained cordial until an incident in 2019 changed the circumstances.

HOW BRAIDE HELPED HER FRIEND

Braide told the court that Onuoha called her early one morning in 2019, informing her that she had been detained at a police station in Ogun State.

The detention, according to Braide, followed a dispute between Onuoha and her landlord over eviction. Braide said she went to the police station, paid for her friend’s bail and discovered that the landlord had allegedly thrown Onuoha’s belongings onto the street.

It was after this intervention that Braide said she offered Onuoha temporary accommodation. The property was her four-bedroom residential house with two sitting rooms in Ikorodu, Lagos.

Braide said she had built the property after returning from a peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2008.

‘I ALLOWED HER TO STAY FOR THREE MONTHS’

Braide said her intention was never to transfer the property to her friend. She told the court that she allowed Onuoha to stay in the house temporarily while she searched for alternative accommodation.

“I allowed her to stay for three months so she could find another place,” she said.

Braide also told the court that she introduced Onuoha to the family from whom she bought the land, describing her as her sister. She said she also gave the family money to clean the property before Onuoha moved in.

The three-month arrangement, however, did not end after three months.

THREE MONTHS BECAME MORE THAN A YEAR

According to Braide, the arrangement eventually stretched beyond the period originally agreed. She said she did not immediately force her friend to leave.

By 2021, however, circumstances had changed..

Braide told the court that insecurity in her home state had forced her to request the property because her brother and his family needed somewhere to stay.

She said Onuoha eventually vacated the house. But, according to the witness, the friendship had by then deteriorated. Communication between the two women eventually broke down.

THE SHOCKING DISCOVERY IN JANUARY 2022

The most striking part of Braide’s testimony concerned what she said she discovered when she returned to inspect the property.

She told the court that in January 2022, shortly after the New Year celebrations, she went to the Ikorodu property with her driver and some elders.

What she saw, according to her testimony, shocked her. “In January 2022, after the New Year celebrations, I went to inspect the property with my driver and some elders. To my utter shock, I met about five workers and their manager, named David,” she told the court.

Braide said the building had been transformed into “Shearwater Factory.”

She alleged that the internal walls and partitions had been knocked down. She also said heavy-duty industrial machines, wires and pipes had been installed inside the residential property. According to her testimony, workers were also living inside the building.

‘THE INTERNAL WALLS AND PARTITIONS WERE KNOCKED DOWN’

Braide’s account suggests that the alleged transformation was not merely a change in the use of the property. She told the court that structural alterations had been made to the building. “The property had been converted into ‘Shearwater Factory.’

The internal walls and partitions were knocked down, and heavy-duty industrial machines, wires, and pipes were installed inside my house, with workers living inside,” she testified.

The statement paints a picture of a residential property allegedly being used for industrial activity without the owner’s consent.

Braide said she had not visited the property during the period Onuoha occupied it, which made the discovery particularly surprising.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the prosecution’s case goes beyond the alleged conversion of the building. It also concerns an alleged forged lease agreement which the prosecution says was presented to the Bank of Industry as part of an attempt to obtain a loan using Braide’s property.

THE ALLEGED LEASE AGREEMENT

According to the prosecution, Onuoha allegedly forged a lease agreement dated February 12, 2018.

The prosecution alleges that the document was subsequently submitted to the Bank of Industry in connection with an attempt to secure a loan facility.

The alleged transaction is central to the 12-count charge before Justice Oshodi. The prosecution has alleged conspiracy, forgery and uttering of false documents.

The charges arose from allegations that documents connected to Braide’s property were falsified and used in circumstances that could prejudice her interests.

HOW THE BANK OF INDUSTRY ENTERED THE CASE

The alleged use of the property to secure a Bank of Industry loan gives the case a financial dimension beyond the original friendship and property dispute.

According to the prosecution, the purported lease agreement was submitted to the bank as part of the process of obtaining the loan.

The prosecution also alleges that the document contained a false signature. Earlier proceedings in the case established that the Police Special Fraud Unit had brought the charges against Onuoha and Eihcrim Nigeria Limited, with other alleged participants said to be at large.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.

The case was subsequently set down for trial.

THE STORY BEHIND THE ALLEGED FORGERY

The prosecution’s account is that the alleged forged document was created or used as part of a scheme involving Braide’s property.

According to the charge, the alleged lease agreement was dated February 12, 2018, although the prosecution says it was forged and later submitted to the Bank of Industry in 2020.

One of the counts specifically concerns an alleged forged signature of Titilayo Opeyemi on the lease agreement. The prosecution says the document was presented as genuine when it was allegedly not.

The defendants have denied the criminal allegations by pleading not guilty.

A FRIENDSHIP THAT TURNED SOUR

Braide’s testimony gives the case a striking personal dimension. She said she had known Onuoha for more than a decade before their relationship deteriorated.

The witness’s account is that she initially helped the defendant during a difficult personal period, offered her a place to stay and treated her as a member of the family.

Years later, the same property became the subject of a criminal prosecution. Braide told the court that after Onuoha eventually moved out, communication between them broke down completely.

The property inspection in January 2022, according to the witness, was when she discovered the alleged factory conversion.

A PROPERTY BUILT AFTER LIBERIA PEACEKEEPING MISSION

Braide also gave the court some background to the property itself. She said she acquired the land and built the house after returning from a peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2008.

That detail is significant because the property was not described by her as a temporary investment or an unused structure.

It was a residential property that she said she had personally built and later offered to her friend for temporary accommodation.

Her account is that the arrangement was never intended to confer ownership or permanent possession on Onuoha.

EARLIER DISPUTE OVER THE PROPERTY

The dispute between the two women is not entirely new. A 2023 report on the matter showed that Onuoha had publicly presented a different account of the property dispute, alleging that she had bought the house from Braide and that the police officer had refused to complete the transfer.

Braide’s legal representative at the time rejected that account and maintained that Onuoha had only been allowed to stay in the property temporarily.

The lawyer, Anayo A. Mbah, said in 2023 that Onuoha had originally sought accommodation assistance after a dispute with her landlord and that Braide allowed her to stay for three months.

That earlier account also showed that the property dispute had already moved into litigation before the latest criminal proceedings.

DIFFERING ACCOUNTS

The conflicting accounts make the case particularly important to follow through the court process.

Braide’s position, as presented in court, is that she owns the property, allowed her friend to stay there temporarily and later discovered that the building had allegedly been converted into a factory.

The defence has a different case. Onuoha has previously alleged that she acquired the property from Braide and challenged the police officer’s account.

Her earlier lawyer also disputed Braide’s version of events and accused the police officer of abusing her position. Those competing narratives underline why the matter remains before the court.

COURT SETS NOVEMBER 10 FOR CROSS-EXAMINATION

After Braide completed her evidence in chief, Justice Hakeem Oshodi adjourned the case.

The matter will return on November 10, 2026, when defence counsel is expected to cross-examine the police officer.

That stage will allow the defence to test Braide’s testimony and put its own version of events before the court.

ValidViewNetwork reports that the November 10 proceedings could therefore provide further details about the disputed property, the alleged lease agreement, the claimed Bank of Industry loan and the circumstances surrounding the alleged conversion of the residence into a factory.

WHAT IS BEFORE THE COURT

At the centre of the criminal case is not simply the question of whether a house became a factory.

The court is being asked to determine whether criminal offences including conspiracy, forgery and uttering of false documents were committed.

The prosecution alleges that the lease agreement was forged and used to obtain a loan from the Bank of Industry using Braide’s property.

Braide’s evidence about the alleged factory conversion provides part of the background to that dispute. The defence will have an opportunity to challenge that evidence during cross-examination and throughout the trial.

The case presents a striking account of how a personal relationship can become entangled in a complex property and criminal dispute. But the allegations remain allegations until the court determines the evidence.

For now, Braide’s testimony has placed before the Lagos State High Court her account of how a property she says she offered to a friend for temporary accommodation was allegedly transformed into an industrial facility.

The next major stage will be the defence’s cross-examination of the witness on November 10, when the court is expected to hear further challenges to the prosecution’s account.