A lawsuit brought by the late Chief (Dr.) Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu, who asserted to be the first son of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, against Ikemba’s widow, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, was dismissed by the Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice A.O. Onovo, for lack of merit.

As the first son of the late Biafra leader, Dabe had gone to court to contest the validity of Ikemba’s will, claiming that his name should have been included in it but it was not.

Dabe also alleged that Ojukwu’s will had been tampered with, and he asked the court to declare that Ojukwu had died without leaving a will and to issue an injunction prohibiting the defendant, Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, from meddling with the late Ikemba’s estate administration. In addition, he asserted his right to the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s estate’s letters of administration.

On November 26, 2011, Ojukwu, the leader of Biafra, passed away. Ojukwu’s will listed Mr. James Ezike, the second defendant, and his wife Bianca as trustees and executors of his estate. Bianca is the first defendant in this lawsuit.

Dabe filed a lawsuit in 2013 contesting the legality of the late Ojukwu’s will. Dabe maintained that despite not being acknowledged or named in the will, he was the deceased’s first son.

The court decided whether the plaintiff had presented sufficient evidence to prove that the deceased was his son and that the deceased had acknowledged him as such during his lifetime; and whether the deceased’s will was legitimately executed and the plaintiff was entitled to receive benefits from the deceased’s estate, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Chief Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu, the plaintiff, passed away in 2018 while the case was still pending in court. Nevertheless, his two daughters, Nene Grace and Obianuju Sarah, filed a replacement suit, which was approved by the court despite opposition from the attorneys for the defendants, Messrs. Emeka Onyemelukwe and Ngozi Abafor.

After more than two hours of deliberation, Justice Onovo rendered a decision on Wednesday. Based on the evidence that was brought before the court, the plaintiff was unable to establish that the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu recognized him as his biological son during his lifetime.

According to the Judge, “it is the prerogative of a man to recognize a child born out of wedlock as his child,” maintaining that acknowledgement of paternity could also be inferred from certain acts by a father towards a purported son, and were not evident in the instant case.

The plaintiff claimed that other members of society, organizations, and groups have acknowledged him as the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s son, but the judge questioned “Can Public opinion be the sole basis of determining the paternity of a child born out of wedlock? I do not think so.”

Along with contesting the will of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Plaintiff also sought a ruling that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu died intestate, pointing to several typographical errors and signatories.

The Court determined that the will and codicil were legitimately made and upholdable under the law after reviewing all of the previously submitted information.

The Court concluded that in order for the children of the Plaintiff to contest Ojukwu’s will, they must first establish that they are the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s grandchildren and are therefore entitled to the advantages that will result from their grandfather’s estate.

“Since in the suit initiated by the plaintiff, their father, he was unable to prove himself to be a son of the Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, then on what basis would the children of the plaintiff be challenging the will of the latter?

“Having failed to prove this, they have no beneficiary interest through their father Chief (Dr) Debe Odumegwu Ojukwu, in the estate of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and there is therefore no merit to this case,” Justice Onovo declared.