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The Lagos State High Court has adjourned till November 19 the hearing in the legal battle over the purported last Will and Testament of late billionaire industrialist, Chief Labode Akindele, as cross-examination of a key witness continues.
The case, presided over by Justice Tanimola Anjorin-Ajose, at the last adjourned date, Mr Soji Awogbade, a senior legal practitioner and former partner at AALEX was cross examined by the claimant’s counsel, Dr Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), over the preparation and execution of the deceased’s 2017 Will.
The suit was instituted by the deceased’s first son, Oladipo Alade Akindele. During the proceedings, Pinheiro questioned Awogbade on how instructions for the preparation of the Will were received, the consultations preceding its drafting, corrections made to the document and the process through which the final version was approved.
Awogbade maintained that the Will was prepared following personal consultations with the late businessman.
However, the cross-examination focused partly on the availability of documentary evidence to substantiate the consultations and the circumstances surrounding the preparation of the testamentary document.
The claimant’s counsel also examined the relationship between the family protocol referenced in the 2017 Will and a subsequent Family Constitution dated October 14, 2018.
Another issue explored during the proceedings was the distinction between executors appointed under the Will and trustees involved in the broader family governance arrangements.
The cross-examination is expected to continue when the matter resumes on November 19.
Pinheiro is leading the claimant’s legal team alongside Mayowa Owolabi of Pistis Partners LLP, while the defendants are represented by Ebun Sofunde, SAN, of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe & Belgore.
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The dispute, which is before the court in Suit No. LD/10/2020, centres on the validity, preparation and legal effect of the Will and other testamentary documents relating to the estate of the late industrialist.
Akindele, who died on June 29, 2020, aged 88, was one of Nigeria’s prominent businessmen, with interests spanning maritime services, fishing, finance, real estate and international investments.
His business interests included Fairgate Group Limited, Fairgate Estates Limited, Fairgate Investments Limited and Madandola Group.
The claimant, who describes himself as the deceased’s seventh biological child and first son, is asking the court to declare the disputed Will invalid, arguing that it failed to comply with the applicable provisions of the Wills Law.
In his court processes, he also raised concerns about his alleged exclusion from key family affairs following his father’s death.
He claimed that he was in Cape Town, South Africa, on business when news of his father’s death reached him and alleged that his subsequent request for a post-mortem examination was ignored.
He further alleged that funeral arrangements proceeded without his involvement and that his name was omitted from the obituary announcing the funeral ceremonies.
The claimant also told the court that he petitioned the police to investigate the circumstances surrounding his father’s death.
The defendants include members of the deceased’s family, widows, children, relatives and associates, as well as the Registrar of the Probate Registry of the Lagos State High Court and the Administrator-General of Lagos State.
