On June 6 2022, Afreximbank announced that it had disbursed the sum of $300 million to help complement the total amount needed by Titan Trust Bank to finalise the acquisition of Union Bank.

The Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele; the President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah; among others are currently under investigation over the $300million the pan-African multilateral financial institution gave to Titan Trust Bank Limited to acquire 93.4 per cent stake in the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Others being investigated are; Aminu Yaro, a Northern business mogul and one Farouk Gumel.

Sources told Sahare Repoter that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) are all investigating Oramah, Emefiele and others.


“EFCC, DSS and NFIU are currently investigating Oramah over the loan given to Titan bank. Why the loan to Emefiele and others political exposed person? Though we believe nothing will happen to him because of his closeness to Mamman Daura. He just bought a house for Mamman Daura at George street, off Edgware road in London,” a senior intelligence officer told SaharaReporters.

On June 6 2022, Afreximbank announced that it had disbursed the sum of $300 million to help complement the total amount needed by Titan Trust Bank to finalise the acquisition of Union Bank.

It noted that the said fund was disbursed under its Intra-African Investment Financing Facility.

However, the source linked the ownership of the controversial Titan Trust Bank to Emefiele.

The bank was established on the 12th of December, 2018 and started operating fully as a commercial national bank after obtaining its National Banking license on the 26th of April, 2019.

In 2019, it recorded a profit of N644 million, and in 2020, its after-tax profit rose to N2.9 billion.

However, the 2021 audited financial statement of the bank showed it now worth over N3trillion with only two active offices in Lagos.

“Isn’t it magical that Titan Trust Bank, a small bank with only two bank branches in Lagos swallowed up Union Bank, a 104-year-old bank, in a transaction valued in the region of over $1 billion dollars?

“The President of Afrexim bank, Oramah, Emefiele, Yaro and others are friends.

“If you need dollar from CBN today, go through Uba Sanni, the Kaduna APC gubernatorial candidate, Sabiu Tunde or Aminu Yaro. This same Aminu Yaro is one of the shareholders of Titan Bank. He owns 9.07 per cent of Titan Trust’s 58.4 million ordinary shares. His wife works with CBN too.

“Don’t forget this same Titan bank just bought Union Bank, We all know Emefiele is the actual owner of it, even though he is using Tropical General Investments Limited (TGI) as front.

“Afrexim is aware that Emefiele, Yaro, and Farouk Gumel are political exposed people, yet granted them loan of such amount to buy Union bank,” the source told SaharaReporters.

Another source added, “Are you aware Titan Trust Bank’s National Banking Licence is the first that the CBN has granted in the last ten years? Are you aware Emefiele is also among the highest shareholders in Union Bank Plc?”

For months, they remained unknown, unseen and unheard of. When many were mourning the loss of lives and asking questions, they remained quiet. Now the veil has been lifted off the owners of the collapsed Ikoyi building, which killed scores of workers and others, including the owner of Fourscore Heights Limited, the company that initiated the project, Mr Femi Odubona.

      The property on 44B, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, went down on November 1,2021. Subscribers reportedly paid millions of dollars for a piece of what promised to be a beautiful edifice with a commanding height on the skyline of Ikoyi – home of the rich and powerful.

      Now, the mystery of the owners of the doomed property has been resolved. Some individuals have gone to court in a desperate bid to stop the Lagos State Government from demolishing the other buildings on the site after experts have certified them unfit to stand.

      Among the unlucky investors are mainly big businessmen and women: A senior lawyer, Mr Oluwemimo Adepoju Ogunde SAN, a pastor, Mr Adetola Odutola, Mr Bola Odutola, Mrs Bunmi Odutola, Mr Ghandi Olaoye,Ms Zahra Temitope Motomori, Mr Adewale Folowosele, Mr Moses Anibaba, Mrs Margret Anibaba, Dr Oladipo Oluyomi, Mrs Adepeju Oluyomi and Mr Tayo Oladapo.

     There are, also, two companies Kwara Business School Limited and Saikoyi Property Limited. The owners are not specified.

  Where have they been all this while? Why did they not approach the panel of inquiry set up by the government to say all they knew about the property? Are they more interested in their money than the lives lost in this misadventure? These are some of the questions people are asking.

     A government source said the state was studying the memorandum of claim served on the company handling the demolition of the two buildings that were left standing after the incident. “However, it is not right for them to say that the government can’t take over the property. The law states explicitly that when a property collapses, the government automatically takes over the property.”

       The source added: “It’s all in the public interest and the government said so. Where were they when the Panel of Inquiry sat and took far-reaching decisions on the matter. The Government has even issued a White Paper. Were they ashamed of claiming their right? Don’t you wonder the kind of investors we are talking about? They couldn’t even ask for insurance before shelling out the huge cash they claimed to have paid the late owner of the property.”

       Some of the investors said they paid the late Odubona various sums of money in dollars -$120,000, $111, 111. 11, $20,000, $315,586.78 and $7,708.

        They said it was the alleged negligence of government agencies that led to the collapse of the building, but a source who testified at the sitting of the Panel of Inquiry said that there was evidence that the site was sealed off by the Ministry of Physical Planning. “Its officials were attacked at the site. In fact, the promoter of the project was arrested. The site was reopened and the promoter was yet to show proof of all he was asked to do before the building collapsed.” He said, adding: “Now, they want to put the blame on the government; that is being clever by half.”

      A source who pleaded for anonymity said: “Now that the owners or potential owners of the doomed property have shown their face, those who lost their loved ones can go after them for compensation.”

      The Lagos State Government is yet to react to the call for a meeting by the subscribers.