By Esther Onyegbula

A 47-year-old single mother, Mrs. Grace Osika, has raised the alarm over what she described as an attempt to dispossess her of a legally purchased vehicle through alleged police manipulation and intimidation by an influential claimant.

Mrs. Osika, who bought a Nigerian-used Toyota RAV-4 vehicle in 2023, from a man identified simply as Sammy, told journalists in Lagos, yesterday, that all relevant documents, including customs papers and ownership history, were verified and confirmed authentic at the point of purchase.

Unfortunately, trouble began in April 2025, after Osika sold the vehicle to a buyer identified as Alhaji.

A week later, Alhaji reportedly informed her that one Mr Chinedu Ejiofor had surfaced, claiming the vehicle was stolen from him and originally belonged to him. The dispute was initially taken to the Ikotun Police Station in Lagos.

“At the police station, it became clear something was off,” Osika said.

“The man who claimed ownership of the car had no documents, no police report, no affidavit, not even a photo with the car. He only said he recognized a stain in the boot.”

Suspicious of bias at the Ikotun station, Osika filed a formal petition, and the case was escalated to Zone 2 Police Command in Onikan, Lagos, where parties were summoned for verification.

“At Zone 2, I presented all the documents tracing the car’s history back to 2015. The previous owners were contacted by phone and they confirmed the car’s history. One used it from 2015 and sold it in 2018, another bought it in 2018, and used it till 2023, before I bought it. The documents and vehicle identification number (VIN) all matched.”

In contrast, Osika said the accuser claimed to have imported and registered the car in 2023, and that his version had leather seats, while the one in question had fabric interiors.

To further raise eyebrows, she revealed that the accuser produced a completely different VIN from hers.

Despite what she described as clear contradictions, Osika alleged that the man began to boast about his influence over some officers in the Anambra State Police Command and threatened to take the case there a threat she said is now materializing.

“Now I’m getting calls from Anambra that the case is being moved there. This is an attempt to strip me of my property,” Osika said emotionally.

“He told us to our faces at Zone 2 that he feeds the police in Anambra and would take the law into his own hands.”

The mother of one described the situation as a campaign of intimidation, lamenting that the system appears to be enabling those with connections to bypass due process.