SENATOR JAMES EBIOWOU MANAGER, MIKE OZEKHOME SAN, PROPERTIES IN DUBAI'S
Data gleaned from Dubai’s land registry has helped unveiled prominent Nigerian investors, especially politicians, senior government officials, businessmen, and their families who are currently taking a slice of Dubai’s lucrative real estate market.
The list features notable Nigerians such as Mike Ozekhome, SAN, a lawyer and human rights activist, and James Ebiowou Manager, a Senator in the 9th assembly currently serving his 5th term in the Senate.
A trove of data obtained from the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, C4ADS, a US-based nonprofit newsroom which was shared with our correspondent also showed that over 800 Dubai properties estimated at N146 billion are linked to Nigerians.
This amount could fund two-thirds of the Nigerian Army’s annual budget and over three times the annual budget of the country’s electoral body the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, according to a Carnegie report.
Mike Ozekhome, SAN
In 1987, Ozekhome co-founded the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), arguably the first human rights organization in Nigeria where he was the pioneer director of Legal Services and member of its governing board.
Records by this medium show that Ozekhome owns three apartments/flats at the Lago Vista C, one of the three residential tower buildings in the Lago Vista complex, and located in Dubai Production City.
A standard studio flat for rent at Lago Vista costs between $8,167 to $10,890 per annum while a 2-bedroom apartment in Lago Vista is available for rent at $17,696 annually, according to Bayut, an apartment rental agency based in Dubai.
He built his reputation as a human rights lawyer, having worked with the late Gani Fawehinmi, who was branded as the “Peoples Lawyer”, first as a junior counsel, before rising through the ranks as a Senior counsel and to the Deputy Head of Chambers of Gani Fawehinmi, Chambers.
In 2010, he was one of 19 senior legal practitioners conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria but his astute reputation as an activist lawyer suffered a blow when he started representing politically exposed persons who were being prosecuted by Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.
Ozekhome is a counsel to the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, the former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Ayodele Fayose, the former Governor of Ekiti State.
In 2018, protesters mobbed Mike Ozekhome, (SAN) and tried to stop him from mounting the podium to speak at the 14th Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture as they accused him of defending corrupt individuals in court and shielding them from justice.
James Ebiowou Manager
In 2003, Manager was first elected to the Senate on the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, representing Delta South Senatorial District where he was appointed to the Works Committee, Niger Delta Committee, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters Committee.
He has been re-elected for four terms consecutively and said to have allegedly nursing ambition to be the governor of the oil-rich Delta State since then, however, Manager’s name was also listed as a property owner in Dubai, which has been referred to as the ‘Money Laundering Paradise’ according to a published C4ADS report named Sandcastles.
Manager was listed to be the owner of two apartments/flats at the First Central Hotel, Dubai, reputed to be equipped with 524 modern apartments that boast contemporary finishes and an enticing cosy ambiance which was stated on the hotel’s website.
In May 2009, he raised the issue of the damage caused by the continued military bombardment of communities in the oil-rich Gbaramatu clan, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, leading to a senate resolution urging the Committee on Defence and Army to take action.
Osita Ben and wife, Chidinma Imaga Chidoka
Chidoka was appointed Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in 2007 where he spearheaded the agency’s good fortunes until he was appointed Minister of Aviation in July 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The ICIR record
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