Tobi Soniyi
The family of the late Madam Iyalode Efunroye Tinubu has finally agreed to settle the rift among them by withdrawing a suit filed by some aggrieved members of the family against Chief Akinfolabi Akindele as the holder of the power of attorney over the expanse of land left behind by the late Yoruba warrior.
Prior to the discontinuation of the suit, some elders of the two warring families (the Shobowale family and the Lumosa family) had agreed to bury the hatchet and stop washing their dirty linens in the public in the interest of the great Yoruba ancestor.
After they agreed to work together, the family consequently instructed their lawyer, Mr J.O.Ogunbiyi to withdraw the suit filed challenging the legal status of Adamakin Investment and Chief Akinfolabi Akindele as the authentic sole holder of the power of attorney to Iyalode Efunroye TInubu Estate in Lagos state.
After the application to discontinue was moved, the trial judge Justice O. Mabekoye of the Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta struck out the matter.
In his ruling on the application, Justice Mebekoya, noted the affidavit in support of the application sworn in support by one Gafar Babatunde Ibrahim, and the fact that the family had indeed settled their differences, therefore there was no need to go on with the matter.
lyalode Efunroye Tinubu left large expanse of land to her family. This has been a source of rift among the family.
However, following wise counsel, the family collectively decided to seek the path of unity in their efforts to recover their family land from individuals who in most cases are not family members, but detractors who insist on using some family members to cause confusion which had resulted in legal actions in courts.
These crises got to a head sometimes in 2019, when some members of the board of trustees of the Iyalode Efunroye TInubu Estate went to court challenging the legal status of Adamakin Investment and Chief Akinfolabi Akindele as the sole holders of the power of attorney to Iyalode Efunroye TInubu Estate in Lagos.
Earlier, in their statement of defence, Mr Kunle Awoma, lawyer to Adamakin and Akindele had asked the court to dismiss the matter.
The defendants Adamakin Investment and Works limited, Chief Akinfolabi Akindele, Rev Musiliu Adio Bakare. Chief Sulaimon Alani Sanni, Mrs Fausat Alausa, and Mr Moruf Afolabi, had averred that contrary to a statement contained in paragraph 7 of the statement of claim, the vast expanse of land covered by the Judgment of 23rd December 1912 and registered as number 45 in page 45 in Volume 2212 of the Register of Deed kept at the Lagos state Land Registry, Lagos, Nigeria, belonged to the estate of Late Iyalode Efunroye TInubu and does not belong to the first claimant as alleged
They argued that the Late Iyalode Efunroye TInubu family consisted of two branches: the shobowale family and the Lumosa family.
According to them, in order to recover part of the estate which covers 16 local government area in Lagos state which has been encroached upon by strangers, and to harmonise the interest of the entire family and ward off all impostors, the family unanimously agreed between the two branches that a board of trustees should be constituted to administer the affairs of the estate.
Consequently, the heads of the two family and two accredited representative of the two branches of Iyalode Efunroye TInubu family approached the court sometime in 2000 for appointment of trustees, pursuant to which the court made an order on 29th April 2020, appointing three of the claimants as well as the late Chief Adams Bilade Lahan as the four trustees to the Estate of Late Iyalode Efunroye TInubu.
The 2nd and 4th claimants belong to the Lumosa branch of the family, while the 3rd claimant and Late Chief Adams Bilade Lahan are members of the Shobowale family.
They further stated that as a result of their inability to handle the complexities involved in running the affairs of the entire estate, the trustees donated a power of attorney to Adamakin Investment and Works Limited and Chief Akinfolabi Akindele sometimes in August 2012, to act on their behalf and on behalf of the entire family in respect of the management of the estate.
They further argued that prior to the appointment of Adamakin Investment and Akindele, there had been bickerings, conflicts and tussles between the Shobowale family and the Lumosa family with the Lumosa family always seeking to marginalise and oppress the Shobowale family.
However, they said since the appointment of Adamakin Investment and Akindele, as attorney in respect of the estate, they have been performing their duties and responsibilities as contained in the power of attorney with utmost diligence, transparency and accountability, ensuring that the entitlement of the family was evenly distributed between the two branches of the TInubu family.
They stated that it was in furtherance of the duties stipulated under the power of attorney donated by the trustees to Adamakin Investment and Akindele that facilitated the opening of an estate bank account for the family, and also led to the production of survey plans which led to the discovery of more land encroached upon by strangers and reclaiming of abandoned land belonging to the estate, as well as engaging in litigation both at the trial and appellate court towards protecting the general interest of the late TInubu family.
They further stated that Adamakin Investment and Akindele had always given account of their stewardship to the trustees and the entire family, for the benefit of both the Lumosa family and the Shobowale family.
They maintained that the purported revocation of the power of attorney letter alleged to have been issued on 5th April 2017 was invalid, unjustified and ill-informed as it was never approved or authorised by the board of trustees and the two branches of the TInubu family.
