A
year after the publisher of The Guardian Alexander Uruemu Ibru died, his
siblings and widow have gone before a Lagos High Court to challenge the
authenticity of his final Will.
Alex
died on November 20 last year after a battle with cancer and related ailments.
His
siblings, Chief Felix Ibru, Ms Grace Ibru and Mrs. Mabel Okolie (nee Ibru), are
urging the court to, among others, void a Will purportedly made by the deceased
on September 8 last year, in a suit filed last Friday.
Felix
and others, in the suit they filed before the Lagos division of the court, for
themselves and as executors and trustees of the deceased’s Will and Testament
dated July 6, 1992, named the registered trustees of Omamo Trust, the widow,
Mrs. Maiden Ibru and the Probate Registrar of the court as defendants.
The
plaintiffs, in their statement of claim, described Omamu Trust as “a trust
purportedly created or founded” by the deceased; the widow, as “the wife of the
second marriage” of the deceased.
They
averred that at death, the deceased had eight children from two marriages;
three by his first wife, Ms. Helen Syrimis and five by Maiden.
Felix
stated that sometimes this year, he directed a firm of solicitors to search at
the Probate Registry of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, to ascertain whether his
late brother left a Will.
He
said the search yielded result as he found out that his brother deposited two
Wills at the registry, one dated May 1989; the other dated 1992.
Felix
added that shortly after his discovery, the second defendant (Maiden) allegedly
wrote through her lawyer, protesting the reading of both Wills on the grounds
that the deceased left another Will dated September 8, last year.
Felix
and Grace stated that although their brother was ill, received treatment and
was admitted on several occasions at Nigerian and London hospitals between 2009
and 2011, Maiden allegedly frustrated their efforts to visit him.
Mrs
Okolie, described as the baby of the family, stated that she had access to the
deceased while he was ill.
She
averred that a few weeks before his death, Alex’s health deteriorated and he
could “not eat, urinate or defecate without being assisted.”
“He
could not talk or otherwise make any form of communication.
“He
had become easily irritable, unfriendly and most times, unusually quiet. His
personality and world view had totally and suddenly changed.”
The
plaintiffs contended that in view of the late Ibru’s health condition, they
“believe that the purported last Will and testament dated September 8, 2011 and
purportedly signed by the deceased is contrived and not the true testamentary
intentions of their deceased brother.”
They
contended that their late brother’s true testamentary and wishes are as
contained in his last Will and Testament dated July 6, 1992.
The
plaintiffs, therefore, prayed the court to declare that the Will and Testament
of September 8, 2011 purportedly made by the deceased is void and of no effect
for want of the requisite testamentary capacity for a valid Will.
They
sought an order of mandatory injunction directing Maiden to account for her
management of the deceased’s estate from November 20, last year until she is
restrained by the court from so acting.
They
also urged the court to declare the deceased’s Will and Testament dated July 6,
1992 as his valid Will and Testament.
The
plaintiffs are equally seeking an order directing the court’s probate to admit
forthwith, the July 6, 1992 Will as the valid one and an award of N10million
against the defendants as cost of prosecuting the suit.
The
defendants are yet to respond to the suit instituted last Friday and no date
has been fixed for the hearing.
Source:
The Nation
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