The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Kurudu, Abuja, has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Ann Eniyamire, daughter of the late Justice Moses Bello, former President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Abuja. She had challenged the manner in which her late father’s properties were distributed.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Mohamed Zubairu ruled that the codicil—a legal amendment to a will—that Eniyamire relied on was not legally valid.
Plaintiff Rejects Court’s Decision
Following the ruling, Eniyamire expressed her dissatisfaction, calling the judgment a “miscarriage of justice.” Through her lawyer, Yahuza Mahraz, she criticized the verdict, alleging that the judge introduced new facts that were not presented by either party and based his decision on personal opinions.
“I am deeply disheartened by this ruling. It is troubling that a judge can introduce his own facts and argue them based on personal beliefs, leading to a miscarriage of justice,” she said.
She further described the judgment as contradictory and unfair, vowing to take the matter to the Court of Appeal.
“This ruling is full of contradictions and goes against the principles of fairness and natural justice,” she added.
Background of the Case
Eniyamire had initially filed the lawsuit at the FCT High Court in Bwari, listing Reverend Father Ezekiel John and Christ the King Catholic Church, Okene Parish, as the 1st and 2nd defendants in case number CV/667/2024.
She alleged that the 1st defendant arbitrarily applied a 4.16% sharing formula instead of the 11.11% stated in her father’s will. Additionally, she sought a court order to prevent the sale of any of her late father’s properties, including a disputed property located at No. 41 Panama Street, Maitama, Abuja.
On October 14, 2024, Justice M. A. Madugu of the FCT High Court in Bwari granted an order preventing the sale of the property and directed security agencies to arrest any violators of the order.
However, the case was later transferred to the FCT High Court in Kurudu, a move Eniyamire strongly opposed. She petitioned the Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf, arguing that the reassignment was unlawful and aimed at undermining her quest for justice.
Court’s Final Ruling
In his judgment, Justice Zubairu stated that the codicil presented by Eniyamire was more of a private letter addressed to her late father’s lawyer, Alex Izinyon (SAN), rather than a legally binding document under the Wills Act.
“A letter written by an attestor but not signed by at least two witnesses cannot be considered a valid codicil. Though titled ‘Codicil,’ it does not satisfy Section 9 of the Wills Act,” the judge ruled.
Furthermore, the court observed that the wording of the codicil gave the executor some level of discretion in distributing the properties.
“Paragraph 2 of the codicil states that all properties in the attestor’s name can be disposed of and shared among his wife and children. The use of can rather than shall suggests that the executor was given some level of discretion,” the judge explained.
Appeal Looms
Ultimately, the court ruled that Eniyamire was not entitled to 1/9th of her father’s estate and upheld the defendants’ distribution formula.
“Consequently, all the reliefs sought by the claimant are hereby refused. The suit is dismissed,” Justice Zubairu declared.
In response, Eniyamire and her legal team vowed to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, maintaining that justice had not been served.
“We reject the judgment in its entirety and will be proceeding on appeal,” she stated.
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