As the tussle over ownership of late Chief Odimegwu Ojukwu’s transport company and his estate rages, some members of the late warlord’s family have asked his wife – Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, to provide evidence of legal marriage to him.
The Ojukwu brothers along with Ojukwu Transport Limited, in a 19 paragraph statement of defence filed before Justice Funmilayo Atilade of a Lagos High Court, also demanded proof that Bianca’s two sons, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu are biological children of the late warlord.
Bianca had on behalf of her sons, dragged Prof. Joseph Ojukwu; Emmanuel Ojukwu; Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu; Dr. Patrick Ojukwu; Edward Ojukwu; Lota Akajiora Ojukwu and Mrs. Massey Udegbe before the court, seeking a declaration that her children are entitled to the possession and occupation of 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi until the harmonisation of the management and administration of the assets of OTL.
Bianca had through her lawyer, Chris Ezugwu, prayed the court to declare as illegal the threat of forceful ejection of her sons from the property in dispute by the defendants.
She had urged the court to declare that they are entitled to possess 13, Hawksworth Road, Ikoyi (now 13 Ojora Road); 32A Commercial Avenue, Yaba, Lagos; 30 Gerard Road, Ikoyi, and 30 McPherson Avenue, Ikoyi.
Bianca had stated that the defendants played no role all through the period her sons’ father (Ojukwu) struggled to retrieve the above properties from the state government.
Hence, the claimants want an order of court restraining the defendants, their agents or privies from interfering with their possession and control of the properties.
But the defendants through their lawyer, George Uwechue (SAN) averred that the subscribers of the Memorandum of Association of OTL (1st defendant) at incorporation in 1952 were L.P Ojukwu and Betram Chukwuemeka Obi, adding that the late Ojukwu and one Prof. Joseph Ojukwu (2nd defendant) were later appointed as directors in 1953.
They stated that the late Ojukwu ceased to be a director of the company prior to the Nigerian civil war and was reappointed as a director on December 16, 2005 while the third and fourth defendants were appointed directors in 1954 and 2005 respectively.
Source: The Nation
