For Bianca Ojukwu, battle for late husband’s properties continues

It is not yet uhuru for Bianca, the widow of late Biafra war lord, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, as regards his property. Her sons with the late Ojukwu Afamefuna and Nwachukwu have both applied to be joined as parties in a 2011 suit filed by Ogbonna Ojukwu and others against the Ojukwu Transport Limited, OTL, in which judgment had been delivered in 2018.

Justice Adedayo Oyebanji had while delivering judgment in the suit marked LD/794/2011, granted possession of Ojukwu Transport Ltd properties in Lagos to Ojukwu Transport Ltd including No 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi Lagos. Ojukwu was a party to the suit until his demise in 2011.

Based on the judgment, OTL, executed a warrant of possession on all its properties in Lagos with certificate of completion of execution of warrant obtained in July 2022. Afamefuna and Nwachukwu have now applied before the court to be joined as interested parties in the matter and also be exempted from the already executed warrant in a case in which judgment was delivered in June 2018. They based their application on the ground that another Lagos High Court had in a judgment in 2022 on a 2012 case marked LD/1539/2012 which they filed against OTL and others, granting them possession of 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi and four other properties. Justice A. M. Lawal had in the 2022 judgment granted a restraining order against interference with Afamefuna and Nwachukwu’s possession of the properties pending the harmonization of Ojukwu properties by OTL.

Claiming to be unaware of the matter before Justice Oyebanji, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu last year served a ‘Notice of Disobedience of Court order’ on OTL, the Ojukwu and other tenants of the property. In their application seeking to be joined in case before Justice Onyebanji, Bianca’s sons claimed that they were not aware of the pendency of the suit and were not included as interested parties in the case. They argued that it would amount to miscarriage of justice for the matter to be conclusively decided without their input as the issues in the case affect their interest.

Of the five properties in the Bianca and sons’ 2012 suit, OTL claims that it had not been paid rent for 12 years (N144m) by Uche Obilor/West African Offshore Limited, occupants of 30 Gerard Rd,Ikoyi, Lagos. It also claimed that the occupants of 32a Commercial Avenue,Yaba, Foursquare Gospel Church, have not paid OTL any rent since 2017, while 4 Macpherson Road, Ikoyi has been under Police ‘lock and key’ since July 2015. It also insisted that 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Road, Ikoyi has been unoccupied for over 20 years, while 13 Ojora Road, Ikoyi is in good condition with good tenant-Landlord understanding.

At the resumed hearing for the fresh application for the joinder on April 22, 2024, OTL Director, Dr P Ike Ojukwu, their agent, Massey Udegbe and lawyer, Chief Ifeanyi Okumah were in court, while Bianca, her sons and their lawyers were absent. The case was therefore adjourned till May 20, 2024.