……as widow, son accuse each other of stopping release of
late billionaire’s body
There seems to be no immediate resolution to the fight among
the family members of the founder of
Moni Pulo Oil Prospecting Company, High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs,
that has stalled the burial of the late billionaire more than thirteen months
after his death. The second son of the deceased, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs and his
stepmother, Dr Seinye Lulu-Briggs are in a cold war over the circumstances
surrounding his death and over who would take custody of the corpse.
She disclosed that Dumo had failed to meet the
pre-conditions which the Court ordered him to fulfill before the release of his
father’s body for burial.
However, Dumo has denied the allegation, noting that he
complied with the order to provide an undertaking by filing
It in court on the
same day of the ruling of the High Court. Seinye, according to her
spokesperson, Oraye St. Franklyn, said she was not ordered to release the body
of her husband as was erroneously reported in some section of the media.
“How can she release
something she has no custody of? If she had custody won’t the court be asking
her to release the body,” Oraye said. Recall that a Ghanaian High Court
presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour , in December 2019 had ordered the
release of the body of the late billionaire for burial.
The order follows months of legal battle between Seinye and
the three oldest sons of the deceased, led by Dumo over who is the rightful
person to recover the body of the late High Chief from the Enterprise Funeral
Services Ghana Limited at Lashibi near Tema where it had been deposited since
he passed away over a year ago. The judge, who had expressed the hope that his
orders would bring the wrangling to an end so that the family can bury the
deceased, gave the following specific orders:
That the mortal remains of the deceased, High Chief (Dr.)
Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs be released by the 4th Defendant, Enterprise Funeral
Services Ghana Limited and the Ghana Police Service, to the family by custom,
led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, to convey same to Nigeria, for the burial and
funeral rites.
That the delegation led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs that will
convey the body of the deceased to Nigeria, should include two representatives
of the Plaintiff/Widow, who should be part of the delegation that will convey
the body to Nigeria.
That the family of the deceased, led by Chief Dumo
Lulu-Briggs, will give a binding unconditional undertaking that, under no
circumstance will the family allow or suffer the Plaintiff/Widow to undergo any
cruel, inhumane or barbaric customary practices in Nigeria, when the body is
conveyed.
That the family, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, will further
undertake that the Plaintiff/Widow will be ably represented in the burial and
funeral preparations, and will be allowed to play her role as a widow mourning
her deceased husband
The court further ordered the 37 Military Hospital which
conducted an autopsy on the body of the deceased to file the autopsy report at
the Registry of the Court within three (3) days upon service of the Order on
the Hospital. Seinye said her stepson appealed the release of the autopsy
report instead of meeting the pre-conditions of the court.
“But the release of the filed autopsy report is now being
blocked by an appeal by Dumo Lulu-Briggs. To what end, she asks. Possibly
because Dumo does not wish the public to know that the filed autopsy report
clearly stated that the High Chief Dr. O. B. Lulu-Briggs died of natural
causes.
“Dr. Mrs Seinye Lulu-Briggs maintains her earlier assurance
that should Dumo fulfill the above stated binding, unconditional undertakings
imposed on him by the High Court of Ghana and allow the release of the report
of the duly conducted autopsy on his father, which he instigated; she would
withdraw her appeal against the judgement. Nevertheless, she questions the
motive behind obtaining the body for burial without any clear burial plan.
“In her view, custody of the body is not necessary in
planning the burial. She says that the blocking of the release of the report of
the duly conducted autopsy, as well as the call for another autopsy by Dumo
Lulu-Briggs, confirm her position that he is desperate to obtain the body
because of his sinister motives and not necessarily for burial,” Oraye said in
a statement.
Sotonye Ijuaye Dagogo, the spokesman of Dumo countered the
claim, stressing that Seinye has made it difficult for the family to retrieve
the body of the late billionaire as ordered by the court. “Chief Dumo has
already in same day of judgement deposited his undertaking in court that Seinye
will not be subjected to any crude practices. “What is hard in these conditions
to meet that Chief Dumo would not immediately accede to,” he queried.
He added that instead of Seinye appointing her
representatives as ordered, she decided to file for a stay of execution of the
order and refused to accept invitation extended to her and her eldest daughter
on how to plan for the burial of the late billionaire.
The Superior court of judicature siting in Accra, Ghana
recently declined the appeal filed by Seinye for a stay of execution of the
High Court judgement as battle over late billionaire’s remains moves to the
Supreme Court.
Culled from Daily Trust
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