A High Court sitting in Enugu State has rendered a verdict in favor of Bianca, the widow of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as the rightful beneficiary of the late Igbo leader’s estate.
The judgment, delivered on Wednesday, stemmed from a suit initiated by Chief Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu. Debe had petitioned the court to be recognized as the first son of the late Dim Ojukwu.
The plaintiff also sought an injunction restraining Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu from meddling with the administration of the estate of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, as well as a declaration of the latter’s intestacy. Additionally, he claimed entitlement to letters of administration of the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s estate.
Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Biafra leader, passed away on November 26, 2011. His wife, Bianca, and Mr. James Ezike were named within his will as trustees and executors of his estate.
The legal battle, initiated in 2013 by the plaintiff, Chief Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu, contested the validity of the late Ojukwu’s will. Despite claiming to be the first son of the deceased, Debe was not mentioned or acknowledged in the will.
The court, presided over by Hon. Justice A.O. Onovo of the Enugu High Court, considered whether the plaintiff had presented sufficient evidence to establish his paternity and acknowledgement by the deceased during his lifetime. It also assessed the validity of the deceased’s will and the entitlement of the plaintiff and his children to inherit from Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s estate.
The plaintiff, Debe Ojukwu, passed away in 2018 while the case was ongoing. His daughters, Nene Grace and Obianuju Sarah, applied for substitution in the suit, a move contested by the defendants’ counsel but permitted by the court.
After a comprehensive two-hour deliberation, Justice Onovo concluded that the plaintiff had failed to substantiate his claim of acknowledgement by the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as his biological son during his lifetime, based on the evidence presented.
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 acknowledgement of paternity could also be inferred from certain acts by a father towards a purported son, and that these were not evident in the instant case.
The plaintiff had averred that he had been recognized by groups, associations and other members of society as a son of the late Dim Ojukwu but the Hon. Justice maintained, “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 challenged the validity of the will of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, citing some typographical errors and signatories, and seeking a declaration that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died intestate.
The court, with all the evidence presented before it, held that the will and codicil were properly and validly made, and therefore valid in the eyes of the law.
Regarding the right of the children of the plaintiff to challenge the Ojukwu will, the court held that “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 therefrom.
“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.
