Faced with the looming threat of eviction from her in-laws and others, Bianca Ojukwu, the former beauty queen and widow of the late Igbo leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, along with her two children who had lived with their father for 38 years, took legal action. They approached the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja for protection.

After a prolonged legal battle lasting a decade, Justice A. M. Lawal delivered a verdict in their favor, ruling that the widow and her children are entitled to the estate of their late father, including his entitlements as a deceased director and shareholder of Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL).

In an unexpected turn of events, just a year after the passing of the late Igbo leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in 2011, his widow Bianca Ojukwu and their two young children, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, found themselves on the brink of eviction from the home where they had resided with the former Miss Nigeria for 38 years. This was despite the fact that this had been their family residence for many years. The individuals seeking their eviction, as per the details in suit LD/1539/2012, included seven defendants who were siblings of the late Ojukwu and others. Over a span of ten years, both parties pursued legal action to assert their respective claims concerning the management and control of assets related to Ojukwu Transport Ltd (OTL).

The late Ikemba Nnewi, as Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was often referred to, had been a Director of OTL, a family-owned company, prior to his passing in 2011.

On June 10, the Lagos High Court delivered its judgment, upholding the arguments presented by Ojukwu’s heirs as presented in the Final Address by their lawyer, Mr. Nick Omeye. The court ruled in favor of Bianca and her two children.

The legal case, known as suit LD/1539/2012, was initiated by Bianca on behalf of her two infant sons, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, against OTL and seven others. These included the late Dim Ojukwu’s brothers, their sons, and a property agent. The dispute revolved around the alleged intention of these defendants to take possession of the claimants’ residence at No. 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, as well as certain properties owned by the company in Lagos. These assets were under the management and control of their late father, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Biafran warlord.

The defendants named in the 2012 suit were OTL, Prof Joseph Ojukwu, Engr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu, Dr. Patrick Ike Ojukwu, Arch. Edward Ojukwu, Lota Akajiora Ojukwu, and Messrs. Massey Udegbe (operating as Massey Udegbe & Company).

The suit was initiated by the claimants, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, who were infants at the time, through their mother Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu acting as their next friend. It’s important to note that Afamefuna and Nwachukwu are the biological sons of the late Chief Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, with Mrs. Ojukwu being his legal and statutory wife.

In a judgment delivered on June 24 of the current year, Justice A. M. Lawal considered the evidence presented by both parties over the course of the ten-year proceedings. The judge sided with Omeye’s arguments, stating that the claimants, as biological children of the late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, were entitled to their father’s estate and his entitlements as a deceased director and shareholder of the first defendant (OTL). The judge emphasized equity and fairness in his ruling, asserting that the claimants should not be dispossessed of property that their late father had controlled and managed while other directors of the company continued to control other assets and derive benefits from them.

The judge further ruled in favor of the claimants, striking out the counterclaim made by the defendants due to lack of competence.

Specifically, the judge’s rulings included:

  • Confirming the claimants’ entitlement to possess and occupy No. 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos, until the management of the first defendant’s assets is harmonized.
  • Declaring the threat of forceful ejection of the claimants from the property as illegal.
  • Granting the claimants’ possession of properties such as No. 13 Hawksworth Rd, Ikoyi; No. 32A Commercial Avenue, Yaba, Lagos; No. 30 Gerard Rd, Ikoyi, Lagos; and No. 4 Macpherson Ave, Ikoyi, Lagos, which were under the possession of their late father.
  • Restraining the defendants from interfering with the claimants’ possession and control of the listed properties.

The judgment was delivered in the presence of the defendants, including the 1st, 5th, and 8th defendants, with the 5th defendant, who was a director of the 1st defendant, representing the latter.

Following this purported appointment, the 4th defendant sent a letter to the claimants’ mother and next friend, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, notifying her of the 2nd-7th defendants’ intention to take over possession and control of the properties in question.

Additionally, the solicitors representing the 8th defendant issued letters dated September 14 and 17, 2012, threatening to evict the claimants from No. 29 Queens Drive, Ikoyi. The 8th defendant also informed the claimants’ next friend of his alleged appointment and requested her cooperation in handing over the properties subject to the suit.

On August 14, 2012, the 5th defendant and Mr. Ifeanyi Okumah, the counsel to the 8th defendant, published a public notice in Thisday Newspaper, warning occupants of the properties in question to engage with the 8th defendant concerning these properties.

Furthermore, the 5th defendant, Dr. Patrick Ojukwu, issued a statement in The Sun Newspaper on September 23, 2012, threatening to forcibly eject the claimants and their next friend, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, from No. 29 Queens Drive, Ikoyi, as well as the other four properties that the claimants had possession of.

The late Chief Chukwuemeka Ojukwu’s Will, including the Codicil, indicated that his wife, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, should retain his interest in No. 29 Queens Drive, Ikoyi, and take his place on the Board of Directors of Ojukwu Transport Limited.

It’s worth noting that while the 2nd-4th defendants and their children threatened to take over certain properties, they retained control of other properties owned by the 1st defendant and collected rents from them. This included properties that had previously been under the possession of the claimants’ late father.

In a subsequent action, through a Further Amended Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim dated May 3, 2016, filed by Nick Omeye Esq. and Chris Ezugwu Esq. of Faith Attorneys, Messrs. Afamefuna and Nwachukwu sought five specific reliefs from the court, including their entitlement to possession and control of the mentioned properties and restraining the defendants from interfering with their possession and control of these properties. The properties were a subject of considerable dispute in the ongoing legal proceedings.

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