Court Reserves Judgment in Dispute over Okadigbo's Estate

An Abuja High Court has fixed February 4 next
year for judgment in a dispute over the
management of the assets of the late Senate
President, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, who died over
10 years ago.
Justice Folashade Ojo chose the date after
parties adopted their written addresses
Tuesday.
Okadigbo's eldest son, Chaka, and his brother,
Osagyefo, are asking the court to among
others, declare that the widow, Margery, now
a senator, was not a beneficiary of the
intestate estate of her late husband.
The plaintiffs also sought the court's
declaration that Mrs. Okadigbo was not
entitled to share with the deceased's children
in the assets and property of the late senator.
They urged the court to amend the letters of
administration granted Mrs. Okadigbo and her
other son, Pharoah, by substituting Pharoah
for Chaka as co-administrator with the widow.
The plaintiffs also urged the court to direct
Okadigbo and Pharoah to account for the
deceased's estate.
The plaintiffs averred in a supporting affidavit
that Okadigbo had failed to render account for
the funds accruing from the late senator's
“bank accounts, stocks, shares in companies
and royalty from published books and other
properties”.
In her defence, Okadigbo argued that the
action before the court was improper.
She added that there was a letter from Chaka
authorising Pharoah to commence the process
of obtaining a power of attorney.
She further claimed that it was on the strength
of the letter that his brother became a joint
executor of the estate.
Adopting the plaintiffs' written address
yesterday, their lawyer, Ayo Kusamotu, urged
the court to grant his clients' prayers.
He recommended to the court a publication by
the Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies
(NIALs) - "Reinstatement of customary laws in
Nigeria" - to support his argument that
Okadigbo was not entitled to benefit from
Okadigbo's estate under the Igbo tradition.
Defence's lawyer, Tochukwu Nweke, urged the
court to dismiss the suit on the grounds of
incompetence.
He argued that the suit was wrongly instituted,
contending that the reliefs sought by the
plaintiffs could not be granted by the court in
view of the way it was couched.
Nweke argued that the onus was on the
plaintiffs to establish by cogent and
compelling evidence that Mrs Okadigbo was
not entitled to benefit from the estate of the
late Okadigbo.
He said the plaintiffs had failed to prove the
Onitsha custom which disentitled Okadigbo
from being a beneficiary of her late husband's
estate.
Nweke further argued that should such custom
existed, it was repugnant to the rule of natural
justice.
On the plaintiffs' prayer that Okadigbo be
ordered to account for her management of the
deceased's companies, Nweke urged the court
to ignore the prayer, adding that the plaintiffs
have allegedly failed to provide the list of the
companies, shares and stocks which
Okadigbo should account for.