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| Late Azzez Arisekola Trouble seems to be brewing among the children of the late billionaire and Islamic leader Aare Abdul Azeez Alao Arisekola over the vast estate he left to be inherited by his over 30 children, wives and some members of his extended families. |
P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the children are already divided
into three groups and laying claims to various properties of their dad
scattered in Ibadan, Oyo State; Lagos and London, United Kingdom. While one of
the groups is led by Khadijat Alao Straub, Arisekola’s first daughter, the
others have Ismaila, Arisekola’s first son and Abdullahi, the son of the late
business mogul arraigned over allegation of N1.1billion oil subsidy scam.
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| Abdullahi Alao |
The children have been
quarrelling with one another over who should control some of the properties,
including their dad’s tank farms in Lagos and flour mill in Ibadan. Arisekola
also has substantial investments in First Bank Plc among other blue chip
companies in the country.
The crisis hit the boiling point last week when one of the
groups, led by Khadijat, stormed their dad’s massive shopping complexes in
front of Bodija market and Idi Ape both in Ibadan to warn tenants not to pay rents
to any other member of the family asides themselves.
They went further to place a Caveat Emptor (Consumers Beware) notice
in some national newspapers to warn members of the public not to buy, lease or
rent any part of the estate without their consent and authority. The Khadijat
group, which named themselves as executors of the late mogul’s vast estate, has
as members; Fatimah, Idris and Mustapha.
The
four children stated in the advertorial: “This is to inform the General Public
that probate has been obtained at the High Court of Justice, Oyo State of
Nigeria in respect of the estate of the late Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao
by the underlisted children of late Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao to wit:
Mrs. Khadijah Alao Straub, Ms. Fatimah Alao, Mr. Idris Alao and Mr. Mustapha
Alao.
“Anybody
who buys, leases or otherwise deals with any property comprised in the estate
of the late Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao without the consent and authority
of the above named Executrix/Executors does so at his or her own risk.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, no sale, lease and/or transfer
of any property comprised in the above-named estate can be valid without the
consent of all the above-named Executrix/Executors duly sought and obtained”.
The late philanthropist didn’t die intestate, as he had prepared
his will certified by the Oyo State High Court of Justice in August 2013. The
will was administered days after Arisekola’s burial by Dr. Oba Otudeko, the
deceased close friend.
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| Oba Otudeko |
Sources privy to the details of the will said both the liquid
and landed properties of the late businessman were shared among his 32 children,
three wives and three relatives. He also directed that an estate account be
opened in which monies generated from sales or rent of any of the properties
shall be deposited for further expenses required by individuals liable to the
prayers of the will.
Arisekola also directed that his expansive mansion in
Oluwo-Kekere area of Ikolaba, Ibadan should be turned to schools within three
years. But contrary to the letter of the will, some of the children have
cornered to themselves building of their choice inside the expansive Ikolaba
mansion. It was also gathered that some other children also went to the
Victoria Island, Lagos home of their father to pick cars of their choice for
personal use.
“It is so sad that just two year after the death of Aare,
his whole family has been tornapart. In fact, the way the children are coming
against each other and laying claims to the properties individually, I doubt if
there will be anything left for them to share,” the source close to the family
told P.M.EXPRESS.
While Khadijat’s camp has been battling with other children
backed by some relatives over the properties, Abdullahi, the son of Alhaja
Jelilat, Arisekola’s eldest wife, who died two weeks after her husband’s death,
has been on the sideline watching his siblings’ drama.
Abdullahi, said not to be in his father’s good book while he was
alive, is a self-made millionaire. Since his mother’s death, Abdullahi has
vowed never to step into the family house in Ikolaba. He has kept to his vow,
shunning most of the family meetings held in the house, until recently when a
neutral venue was agreed on.
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| Arisekola's Ikolaba Mansion |
It was
learnt that Abdullahi is peeved with the action of some of his siblings that he
suggested that DNA test ought to be conducted on the children to even
ascertained their true paternity.
He was said to be contemplating changing his surname from Alao
to their ancestral surname of Jeriola.
Meanwhile, the action of the Khadijat’s camp was said to have
created further wedge among the children. Sources close to the family claim
that the major problem is that most of those properties are tied to some loans
the patriarch took from some banks. Although the majority of these properties
have been willed to some of the children and families, we gathered that the
properties are set to be retrieved from their new landlords by the banks in
order to offset the credit facilities running to the tune of N7 billion.
The family has also been having challenges selling off the Tank
Farms, as some of the banks including GT Bank Plc and First Bank of Nigeria
Plc, have written to members of the family, warning them not to trespass
on those properties, which include Lister Flour Mills of Nigeria Limited
and the Oluwo-Kekere mansion.
-Funsho Arogundade
The original story was published by P.M.EXPRESS
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