Ataba Sani-Omolori, one of the heirs apparent to the Ohinoyi stool in Kogi State is battling to save his reputation. Ataba who is being touted to become the fifth Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, to succeed the deceased Ohinoyi, Abdul Rahman Ado Ibrahim, has allegedly gone into hiding, following a complaint filed by his sibling alleging that he fraudulently sold off one of their late father’s vast properties and pocketed the proceeds.
A former Clerk in the National Assembly, Ataba is allegedly evading detectives investigating claims that he illegally sold a multi-million-naira property located on the outskirts of Abuja bought in the name of Mohammed Tata and Sons Nigeria Limited by his late father. Ataba’s brother, Buhari, filed the complaint a few months ago with the police and accused him of conspiring with a clique of property developers to fraudulently sell off the land now supposedly valued at hundreds of millions of naira.
The land was allegedly sold by Ataba for a fraction of its potential value and he failed to distribute the proceeds to his siblings, who are the original directors of the company. He is currently nowhere to be found and efforts by police detectives to interview him over the fraud allegations have proved abortive and he was thus declared wanted.
Ataba’s lawyer however denies allegations that his client is avoiding arrest, claiming he has been out of town and would willingly meet with the police on his return. Back in 2021, the children of the late traditional ruler filed a petition before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking investigations into how a briefcase containing original documents of their late father’s properties was allegedly stolen days after his death.
Some of the properties are said to be located in the Maitama, Katampe, and Mabushi districts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. In 2022, a member of the family said the family carried out investigations and found that Ataba allegedly stole original documents after their father’s death and sold them without consulting his siblings or sharing the benefits with them.