Chief Sylvester Debe Ojukwu, a self-acclaimed son of the Ikemba
Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has declared in an interview
with Journalists that a DNA test will remove whatever doubts that may
exist about his relationship with the deceased.
He told newsmen of his right to the late Ikembas will claiming he is
the first son of the deceased and so deserves to be mentioned in his
will and only a DNA test will ascertain his authenticity. He said “If
they claim I am not his child, then the correct test to determine all
that is a DNA. This is not something anybody can wish away,”
He also expressed displeasure at his being barred from performing the
burial rites of his late father saying “That I was barred from
performing ‘dust-to-dust’ was discriminatory and it is against Section
42 of the Nigerian Constitution, which says that no child should be
discriminated against on the basis of circumstance of birth.
“They said there was a DNA test,but the lawyer who wrote his Will
claimed that he did not see me. According to him, when he came back in
1982, I appeared and disappeared for 30 years. The lawyer who said he
wrote the Will said that. “The so called DNA test was said to have been
done in secret. But how can a DNA test be done in secret? A DNA is
usually done and made public. I doubt strongly if this was so.
Everything is a grand conspiracy.
“For anyone to go a mile extra to say my name is not in the Will is
not something that will go unchallenged. “I am one person who believes
in the truth. And for me, if you err and recognise the fact that you
erred and you are ready to show remorse, there is no reason why
forgiveness should not come. But when you try to grandstand, there can
be no settlement in sight.
He also denied the authenticity of the will. In his words “that was
not my father’s Will. He did not write that Will. All the things that
have been written are within the realm of speculations.
“The media have been writing without seeing the Will. I took pains to
get the Will because it concerns me. I am giving you a copy of what
they said is the Will so that the public can get educated. It is not my
father’s Will. It was forged. You can see the signatures are different.
“The signature on the Will is not that of my father. I am a trained
police officer. You can take a look at the letters he had written to me
and other documents I showed you. The signature on it is different from
that which is on the Will. I know what I am talking about. His true
signature is in the archives of the Federal High Court. And my father
that you are talking about was a former Military Governor of the Eastern
Region. He signed edicts, laws. So, his signature is within the domain
of public records.
“And because I knew him, he was not the type of person that took
rubbish. They went and forged the signature. If you check all the
documents, you will find out that the signatures on them do not
correspond with that on the will. My father was such a person that when
he signed a document, it was like Ikemba. And Ikemba moved straight.
Ikemba moved like lightening. If you see his signature, it is
deliberate. It is never shaky.
“My exclusion from my father’s Will does not smack of my rejection
legally. As a lawyer, I know that you have the power to Will your
property to anybody legally. But being a son or a daughter to someone is
more sacrosanct, and so it is. It is not something you can wish away.
It is so natural.
“So, a man’s exclusion from a Will is as far as property goes. And
with regards to disinheritance, the law provides that if you want to
disinherit your son or daughter, you must state in black and white that
you are disinheriting your son. And since the Will did not state that I
was being disinherited, there is nothing like disinheritance. What has
happened is what could be regarded as an unmentioned child. That is the
position of the law. So, that is the way it is.
“If you go to people like Chief Sunny Odogwu, Chief S.N. Okeke and
the rest of the elders who were his friends, who had been with my father
and me, they know my relationship with him as a son. He concluded.
Open letter from Odumegwu Ojukwu Family to Sylvester Ude a.k.a. Debe Ojukwu.
ReplyDeleteSignatories to this letter:
1. Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Jnr. (Ikemba II), Director - Ojukwu Transport Limited
2. Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu
3. Mr. Okigbo Odumegwu Ojukwu, Director - Ojukwu Transport Limited
4. Ms. Mimi Odumegwu Ojukwu. (Ada Ikemba)
5. Ms. Ebele Odumegwu Ojukwu.
6. Ms. Tenny Haman Odumegwu Ojukwu
Dear Sylvester Ude a.k.a. Debe "Ojukwu",
your contract to manage some Ojukwu Transport Limited properties ended years ago and you must now account to and return to The Company (Ojukwu Transport Limited) and The Ojukwu Family all monies that you have stolen from The Company and The Family.
You must also stop falsely parading yourself as General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu's son and a member of The Ojukwu Family because our father, The Late General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu ordered a DNA test on you and ascertained with 99.99% accuracy that you are niether General Ojukwu's son nor a member of The Ojukwu Family.
You must cease and desist from fraudulently extorting rents from Ojukwu Transport Limited's tenants.
You are also hereby banned from stepping foot on any Ojukwu Transport Limited or Ojukwu Family properties, particularly those in Nnewi, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Enugu, Kaduna, Zaria and Abuja.
You are hereby warned that we are currently enlisting the assistance of The Federal Government of Nigeria, The Ministry of Defense, Millitary intelligence Services, State Security Services, The Lagos State Government, The Anambra State government amongst others to protect the legitimate rights of Ojukwu Tansport Limited, a corporaton duly incorporated and registered with The Corporate Affairs Commission of The Federal Republic of Nigeria.