The Will of Ikemba Nnewi and Ezeigbo Gburu-gburu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu which was read weekend before members of his family at the probate registry of the Enugu state High Court has been described as sacrosanct.
This assertion was made in a press interview in his Enugu chambers, yesterday, by Chief Emeka Onyemelukwe, the personal lawyer and close associate and confidant of the late leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who passed on in a London hospital Nov 24, 2011.
He said the clarification became necessary in view of some uncomplimentary media reports attributed to some members of the Ojukwu dynasty including one of the sons, Emeka Jnr.
He said that the will was registered in the Enugu High Court on July 9, 2005, while the codicil which was to give details and correct any mistakes in the will was dated Dec 16, 2009.
Tendering various documents, most of them legal papers and court briefs and motions where he was copiously authorized and mandated to draft, sign and or represent the late sage in courts and at other such important occasions, Onyemelukwe stated that he has been close to him since his return from exile in Ivory Coast many years ago. That virtually all Ojukwu’s legal papers remain in his custody till date, including those of properties and chattels willed to Emeka Jnr who now claimed he never knew him as his father’s lawyer or friend.
He described Emeka’s assertion that he did not know him as unfortunate, “even when I was the Master of Ceremony at his wedding to the daughter of Chief Cyprian Ekwensi, the late literary giant, in the early 90s”. He saw such claim as that of a baby adult who may never grow up.
The lawyer also debunked Emeka’s claim that Bianca, the young wife to his late father apparently had a fore knowledge of the contents of the Will when she sent some aides to move away her personal belongings from the Nnewi house that was eventually willed to him ahead of the disclosure last Friday, Nov 30, 2012. He said that ahead of the Nov 25, 2012 family thanksgiving at Nnewi, Bianca sent some of her aides to clean the house but they were seized and beaten up mercilessly and detained by Emeka.
It took the intervention of the larger Ojukwu family and other illustrious sons of Anambra who sued for peace. So, immediately after the event, she decided to move her belongings to another of the many other buildings within premises, to avert further crises and show of shame.
Engr Mark Ezemba, one of the witnesses to the will was Ojukwu’s Bestman during his wedding with Bianca; While Justice Iguh was chairman at the wedding reception of Ojukwu Jnr.
Onyemelukwe was very emphatic that no other person knew or saw the contents of the will before it was read last week. He said that in the course of drawing up the will, he reminded Ikemba on about two occasions to remember his son Emeka. That Ikemba said he had already handed over to him a money spinning multi-storey building with shops and offices known as No 26, Sokoto Rd, adjacent to Onitsha Main Market to him, just as he had bequeathed 7 Forrest Crescent, Ekulu GRA Enugu and the other property at Jabi, Abuja as gifts to his wife Bianca.
Ikemba said that since he gave all his older children the best foreign education possible, he would made it possible to give the younger ones from Bianca similar opportunity.
Counterring also the claim that Emeka was not informed about the date for the reading of the will, Onyemelukwe tendered three different text messages to Emeka’s three different active telephone lines, “The will is to be read at the High Court Enugu, at 8.30am, note the change of time, which was due to other engagements of the Chief Registrar…”, “Please remember the reading of your late father’s Will on Friday, Nov 30, 2012 at 10am, at the Probate registry, High Court, Enugu. Kindly inform your brother Okigbo and Mimi”, “Emeka, please be informed that your father’s Will will be read on Nov 30, 2012.
Source: Leadership
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