•Over His Corpse In GHANA, 8 Months After His Death
A raging family feud has stalled the burial of Nigeria’s multi-billionaire Oil mogul High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, who died on 28th of December, 2018, in far away Accra, Ghana.
City People gathered that the three eldest sons of the late O.B Lulu-Briggs as he was known in his lifetime –Chief Dumo O.B Lulu-Briggs, Mr. Senibo O.B Lulu-Briggs and Sofiri O.B Lulu-Briggs are now fighting a fierce battle to retrieve the corpse of their late father from the custody of Ghanaian Mortuary and Ghanaian Police. The allegations leveled against Seinye O.B Lulu-Briggs, the widow, who is under bail from Ghanaian Police are grave. She has been asked to provide answers to the questionable circumstances of her husband’s death and her not making available Mortuary’s receipt and Exportation documents to enable the family to bring the remains of late High Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs to Nigeria for decent burial at his home town, Abonnema, Akuku Toru Rivers State. The request for the autopsy on the late patriarch, O.B Lulu-Briggs stemmed from doubts raised by the enlarged family members of the deceased as to what led to his sudden death without hospital records or inquest.
The estranged family members are now before a Ghanaian High Court Accra, presided by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour. They want the court to unravel why autopsy on the late Nigerian Multi-billionaire has not been done. At the end of an exhausting meetings by the family it was agreed that autopsy should be conducted to examine the cause of his death and the High Court adopted the outcome of that meeting and ordered that ‘autopsy should be conducted at 37 Hospital, Accra, Ghana, by Col. (Dr) Attoh and that three sets of samples be taken from the deceased for examination, with each party comprising the widow, Ghanaian Police and elder sons of the O.B Lulu-Briggs family having the samples.
But, to the dismay of other family members, it was alleged that the Ghanaian High Court’s ruling by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour was jettisoned by unknown person who went ahead and brought one Dr. Lawrence Adusei, who in Ghanaian medical records, was said to have conducted a controversial autopsy which raised doubt on its validity and authenticity. Worse still, the doctor was said to have refused anyone entry to the theatre including Police Pathologists from Nigeria AIG (Prof.) Wilson Akhiwu and pathologist from Ghana Police Service Dr. Osei Owusu Afriyie, and the decision on the collection of three sets of samples were never followed by Dr. Lawrence Adusei.
Irked by the outcome, Barrister Dumo O.B Lulu-Briggs and his two siblings were said to have petitioned the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Division of Ghanaian Police Service complaining about the disobedience of the Court judgment regarding the mechanism for the autopsy examination on their late billionaire father-High Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs.
From the outset how the remains of the late Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs found their way to Ghana is another controversial issue, which the three siblings are questioning. It was gathered that Chief Dumo O.B Lulu-Briggs, while in Ghana, granted media interview to The Daily Guide where he broke his silence since the death of his father and unearthed how his father was locked up for 5-hours at Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria, while it was made known that the late Chief had gone on vacation to Ghana, while his aircraft was waiting for acquisition of Landing Permit at Accra airport Ghana a claim that was allegedly debunked by Dumo O.B Lulu-Briggs and siblings as Landing permit was duly obtained with estimated Time of arrival ETA at 1 Pm Ghanaian time on 27th of December.2018.In this way, Dumo O.B Lulu-Briggs and siblings were said to have been in a state of shock as there was no Medical Clearance obtained by the widow who arranged the travel. They got information that their father’s widow Seinye O.B Lulu-Briggs informed members of the public that their father died airborne. that is en route to Ghana before the aircraft landed at Accra, Airport as her late husband was found ‘Motionless’ inside the aircraft. A situation the Ghanaian immigration Service were not allegedly informed or the Airport Authority of Ghana Ltd even the Airport Police station were allegedly said not to have received any complaint or notification for the inquest of coroner since he died outside hospital premises as required by Ghanaian Law
It was discovered that a Medical Death Certificate was acquired before the remains of High Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs was deposited in the Transition Funeral Home in Accra Ghana. And there was an allegation of the acquisition of Export Permit to take the dead body away to Nigeria without the three siblings Dumo O.B Lulu-Briggs and others knowing. It was on record that high Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs was bedridden for years and that he used motorized Wheel-chair as he suffered from Parkinson Disease having gone for surgery years ago in the United Kingdom where he was in a coma for 4-days before he came back to life and was returned to Nigeria.
While he was alive, the 88-years old Oil and Gas exploration mogul was above 6.7 feet tall and athletic built fellow who loved wearing customized and unique size 46 shoes that filled a 20” by 20” room at his country home in Odi Crescent Old GRA Port Harcourt.
He was the chairman of Moni Pulo Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd plus other companies across Nigeria and beyond including popular Rachael hotels harbor road Port Harcourt. But he was well known for his philanthropy through O.B Lulu-Briggs Foundation located at no. 17 Igbodo Street Old GRA Port Harcourt. He entered into an agreement with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital for the establishment of O.B Lulu-Briggs Cancer Treatment Center Port Harcourt.
EMEKA AMAEFULA
