A fresh petition before President Bola Tinubu has accused Emem Nnana Usoro, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of operations, of allegedly taking control of the multi-billion-naira estate of late businessman Jerry Edirin Wesley and shutting out his widow, aged mother and members of his extended family.
The petition was submitted by Crusade for Justice, a rights advocacy organisation, on behalf of Mrs. Grace Wesley and the Wesley-Efedede family, who are demanding intervention over what they describe as a prolonged struggle for control of the late businessman’s properties and financial assets.
According to the petition, the controversy began with Wesley’s relationship with Usoro, who was then known as Emem Nnana-Usoro David-Etuk and was working in a management position at a prominent commercial bank.
The petition alleges that Usoro became involved with Wesley through his banking relationship with the institution and subsequently moved into a relationship with him despite being aware that he was legally married to Grace Wesley.
The document claims that Wesley and Usoro lived together in several properties and that their relationship continued until the businessman became critically ill during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the petition, Wesley was taken from a Maitama residence to a COVID-19 isolation centre in Gudu, Abuja, where he died on February 1, 2021.
The circumstances following his death form a major part of the family’s complaint.
The petition alleges that Usoro collected Wesley’s death certificate from the hospital after his death and has refused to release it to his family despite repeated requests.
The family also alleges that Grace Wesley was excluded from the burial arrangements and was not allowed to participate in the burial of her husband, which allegedly took place in Abuja on February 2, 2021, just one day after his death.
The petition paints a picture of a widow allegedly shut out of critical decisions concerning her husband immediately after his death, while control of important documents and assets remained with Usoro.
The family’s concerns extend beyond the death certificate and burial.
The petition alleges that Usoro subsequently took control of Wesley’s substantial assets and properties and prevented members of his family from accessing or exercising control over them.
The Wesley-Efedede family has already taken the dispute to court.
The petition references Suit No. USACC/N/17/2022 before the Customary Court in Warri, Delta State, concerning allegations of interference with Wesley’s bank accounts held with United Bank for Africa (UBA).
The family is now asking the Presidency to look into the wider circumstances surrounding the late businessman’s estate, including the control of his properties, bank accounts and other assets.
The petition has also brought renewed attention to an earlier clash between Usoro and SecretsReporters, following an attempt by the publication to obtain her response to matters relating to Wesley.
SecretsReporters had previously reported that its senior reporter, Stanley Ugagbe, was arrested after attempting to contact Usoro and was subsequently taken before a court.
Ugagbe has remained in custody following his arraignment, while the publication has maintained that the arrest was connected to its investigative reporting.
The publisher of SecretsReporters, Fejiro Oliver, has also previously alleged that the police accused the publication and its publisher of espionage, a claim he strongly rejected.
The journalist’s detention has added another layer to the controversy surrounding the allegations involving Wesley’s estate and the attempts by the media to investigate the matter.
At the heart of the petition before President Tinubu is the demand for answers over the late businessman’s estate and the alleged exclusion of his widow and family from properties, financial accounts and other assets said to have belonged to him.
The Wesley-Efedede family is calling for the relevant authorities to examine the circumstances surrounding Wesley’s death, burial, death certificate, bank accounts and estate, as well as the alleged control exercised over the assets since his death.
The petition places the matter squarely before the Presidency as the family seeks government intervention in a dispute that has continued for more than five years after Wesley’s death.