Justice A.O. Adeyemi of the Lagos State High Court Family/Probate Court in Ikeja, has dismissed the application filed by Christian Wigwe and Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, seeking the appointment of interim administrators in the estate of the late former Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe.

October last year, the media reported that the family of Pastor Shyngle Wigwe had veiled interest in the bequest of the late banker’s children and sought to disinherit them through modification of late Herbert Wigwe’s Will, but the family vehemently denied the reports. A caveat, challenging the late banker’s Will, filed by one Christian Chukwuka Wigwe, who claimed to be a cousin of the deceased, on behalf of the deceased’s father - Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, surfaced online.

While the court ruling reported by the media today showed that the family lied about withdrawing the suit challenging the distribution of the late banker’s Estate, joining Miss Otutochi Channel Wigwe, late Herbert Wigwe’s daughter, in a suit involving Uche Wigwe and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, is really disturbing. Can we really say the Wigwe family is concerned about the welfare of the children? Miss Otutochi Wigwe is only 26 years old and has just lost her father. Does it ever occur to the family that the children of the late banker are the worst hit by his untimely and painful death? Are Herbert Wigwe’s children safe with the Wigwe family? Has the Wigwe family shown the warmth and responsibility that could endear the children to them?

A 90-year-old man dragging his grand-daughter before a court does not suggest that the children of the deceased will ever find safety within their father’s household. Clearly, there is deep-seated hatred and envy towards the children of the deceased because of what their father bequeathed to them. Justice Adeyemi ruled that the applications for the appointment of interim administrators and guardians were part of the substantive claims, and thus could not be considered at this stage.

The Contention of Learned Senior Counsel for the Claimants/ Applicants that given the issues involved in this suit, there might be a protracted trial is not only unfounded but also preemptive. This is because the issues involved particularly that of the minor children of the estate have prompted the court to grant an accelerated hearing in this suit from the beginning as shown from the abridged days granted to parties,” the court held