Bianca wins in suit challenging Ojukwu’s will

Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, the widow of the late Igbo leader Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, has been declared the lawful beneficiary of the estate by a High Court sitting in Enugu State.

Wednesday marked the delivery of the judgment in the case that Chief Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu initiated.

Debe had petitioned the court for recognition as the late Dim Ojukwu’s firstborn son.

In addition, the Plaintiff requested a declaration that the deceased Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died intestate and an injunction prohibiting the defendant, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, from interfering with the administration of the estate of the late Ojukwu.

Furthermore, he asserted his right to letters of administration concerning the estate of the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

On November 26, 2011, Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of Biafra, died.

In his will, he appointed Bianca, his wife, the first defendant, and Mr. James Ezike, the second defendant, as trustees and executors of his estate.

The court was presented with this case in 2013 in which the Plaintiff, Chief Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu, challenged the validity of the late Ojukwu’s will. Although Chief Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu claimed to be the first son of the deceased, the late Ojukwu did not acknowledge or mention him as such in his will.

The matters presented before the court, which was presided over by the Honorable Justice A.O. Onovo of the Enugu High Court, Enugu Judicial Division, were as follows: whether the Plaintiff had presented sufficient evidence to establish that he was the deceased’s son and that the deceased had acknowledged this during his lifetime; whether the deceased’s will was drafted properly and validly; and whether the Plaintiff and by extension, the children of the Plaintiff, were entitled to the estate.

While the case was still pending in court, the Plaintiff, Debe Ojukwu, died.

His two daughters, Nene Grace and Obianuju Sarah, filed a motion for substitution in the lawsuit, which the court granted despite opposition from the defendants’ attorneys, Messrs. Emeka Onyemelukwe and Ngozi Abafor.

The Plaintiff was unable to establish that the deceased Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu recognized him as his biological son during his lifetime, according to Justice Onovo’s lengthy ruling, which lasted more than two hours.

According to the judge, “it is the prerogative of a man to recognize a child born out of wedlock as his child.”

He maintained that certain actions performed by a father towards a fictitious son could also serve as an indication of paternity, which was not apparent in the present instance.

The Plaintiff claimed that organizations, associations, and other members of society had acknowledged him as the son of the late Dim Ojukwu. However, the Honorable Justice argued that, “can public opinion be the sole basis of determining the paternity of a child born out of wedlock? I do not think so.”

The Plaintiff also contested the legitimacy of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s will, citing typographical errors and illustrative signatories, and requested a declaration that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died in estate.

In light of all the evidence that was presented, the court determined that the will and codicil had been duly and legally drafted and were, therefore, legally valid.

In relation to the Plaintiff’s children’s entitlement to contest the Ojukwu will, the court ruled as follows: “In order to have the locus to challenge the will, they must first prove that they are the grandchildren of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and entitled to the benefits accruing from there.

“Since in the suit initiated by the plaintiff, their father, he was unable to prove himself to be a son of the Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, then on what basis would the children of the plaintiff be challenging the will of the latter?”

“Having failed to prove this, they have no beneficiary interest through their father Chief (Dr) Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu, in the estate of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and there is therefore no merit to this case”, the judge concluded.

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