Mrs. Helen Prest Ajayi and her daughter, Tomisin Ajayi, have filed an appeal against the June 17 judgment of the Lagos State High Court that declared Mrs. Adenike Oluyemisi Ajayi the sole lawful widow of the late Dr. Tosin Ajayi, founder of First Foundation Hospital.
The appeal, lodged at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, seeks to overturn the decision delivered by Justice Oluwatoyin Odusanya in the protracted legal battle over the administration and distribution of the deceased medical practitioner’s estate.
In the ruling under challenge, Justice Odusanya held that Adenike Ajayi’s statutory marriage to the late Dr. Ajayi was never dissolved, making her the only legally recognised spouse entitled to apply for letters of administration. The court awarded her one-third of the deceased’s personal estate and dismissed Helen Prest Ajayi’s claim of a valid Kalabari customary marriage.
The judge further ruled that even if a customary marriage had been established, it would have been invalid because Helen Prest Ajayi was still legally married to her former husband at the time.
In a notice of appeal dated June 18, the appellants who noted that Helen was wrongly sued as Helen Davies raised five grounds of appeal. They argued that the trial court erred by describing Helen Prest Ajayi as the deceased’s mistress, ignoring a January 2021 consent judgment from another Lagos High Court that reportedly recognised both Helen and Adenike as co-wives.
The appellants also contested the court’s finding that Tomisin Ajayi was born out of wedlock. They maintained that she was born during a 25-year relationship between Helen Prest Ajayi and Dr. Ajayi, supported by a United Kingdom birth certificate listing both parents as a married couple.
Additionally, they challenged the authenticity and sufficiency of evidence regarding Adenike Ajayi’s statutory marriage, arguing that the claimants failed to produce adequate documentation from the marriage registry. The appellants further contended that the trial court overreached by granting reliefs not sought by the parties, particularly pronouncements on Helen’s personal relationship with the deceased, when the core issue was estate administration.
The appeal also disputes the court’s pronouncements on the ratio and quantum of estate distribution, stating that such matters should be handled by appointed administrators and the probate registry
after letters of administration are granted.
In a related motion, the appellants are seeking a stay of execution of the judgment pending the hearing of the appeal. They argue that enforcement could prejudice ongoing proceedings involving estate assets and render the appeal ineffective if successful.
The estate dispute, which began after Dr. Tosin Ajayi’s death in April 2020, has sparked multiple court cases since 2021, primarily revolving around competing claims to his marital status, rightful beneficiaries, and control of his assets.
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