A Lagos resident, Mr. Babajide Debayo Doherty, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, over what he described as a coordinated scheme of criminal trespass, impersonation, fraudulent conversion, and malicious destruction of his property by a lessee, Otti Funke Olayinka, of CTSR Properties Limited, and an alleged imposter, Babatunji Wusu. In a petition dated July 2025 and filed through his legal representatives, Country Hill Attorneys and Solicitors, Doherty narrated how he and other beneficiaries of a family estate located at Plot 60, Chief T.A. Doherty Layout, Morison Crescent, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, have been allegedly dispossessed of their property through forged legal processes and impersonation. He also alleged that Madam Funke Otti has consistently used her connections with law enforcement agencies and thugs to harass his legitimate tenants, chase their workers out of the property, and even attempted to demolish the warehouses. According to the petition, the property in question was initially leased to CTSR Properties Limited in 2014 through a Deed of Sublease signed by the trustees of the Doherty Estate. The agreement granted a 50-year lease split into five 10-year phases, with a yearly rent of ₦250,000 per acre for the first decade. The total land area, 1.795 acres, brought the annual lease to ₦445,750. However, CTSR reportedly defaulted on the terms of the lease. The company allegedly paid only an initial ₦250,000 deposit and failed to remit the outstanding balance of ₦198,750 for the first year. Even more alarming, according to the petition, CTSR made no subsequent payments over the following years, accumulating an alleged rent debt of ₦4.2 million. Despite these defaults, Otti, the owner said, proceeded to sublet the property to third parties and collect large sums without a notice to the family nor remitting any portion to the rightful owners. Doherty claimed that CTSR received ₦69 million from Wow Creamery Limited under a three-year sublease agreement and an additional ₦25 million from Svengali Designs Limited for a one-year lease- funds that were allegedly diverted and not accounted for. “CTSR Properties Ltd. has criminally converted funds belonging to the legitimate beneficiaries of the property while continuing to enjoy illegal occupation of the premises,” the petition stated. Following the alleged breaches, the estate beneficiaries instituted legal action against CTSR to reclaim possession of the property. But while the suits were still pending before the Ikeja High Court, Madam Otti, Doherty alleged, fraudulently obtained a consent judgment from an Ogba Magistrates’ Court, where Wusu was purported to be the owner of the said property and Otti his tenant. “Who is Wusu? I do not know him. How did he become the owner of this property, which was willed to myself and my two sisters from our late father’s estate? Who sold to Wusu? This is why I am appealing to the police, the EFCC, and all well-meaning Nigerians to probe the activities of these individuals. “Funke Otti should be asked to produce evidence of payment to the family for the period of the lease. This is a clear case of fraud, criminal conversion, and conducts likely to cause breach of peace. We are appealing to the authorities to come to our rescue and stop Funke Otti and those backing her from dispossessing us of our lawful property,” he cried out. Also lamenting, the tenants accused the woman of always bullying them and sending thugs after them who allegedly steal their belongings. They alleged that their problem with Otti started when they refused to comply with her request of an upward payment of rent following a letter they received from the lawyer to the Doherty family. They said the lawyer had introduced the Doherty family as the legitimate owners of the property and that Funke was a lessee who breached all terms of agreement and had been asked to hands off the property . For clarity, the tenants said they contacted Funke Otti and requested a meeting to clear gray areas, but she refused to honor them. Consequently, they notified her that the six months postdated cheques she earlier collected from them won’t be honored and that she should not present them to the bank, cheques but she proceeded to do so after threatening them. “I was shocked when I received notification from the bank that the cheque did not clear. The next thing she started using EFCC to threaten me. I was invited by the EFCC and fortunately, I had evidence of my communications with her where I clearly said the cheque should not be presented. That was how I was able to clear myself from that matter,” one of the tenants lamented. Meanwhile, it was learned that three suspected thugs allegedly hired by Mrs. Oti to illegally take over the properry have been arrested by the police at Force Criminal Investigations Department, FCID, Alagbon Lagos, while investigations continue.
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