Society Gists

*** How He Left Substantial Wealth to Wife, Seinye

Seven months after his death, the Will and Last Testament of a billionaire Kalabari high chief, Benson Lulu-Briggs, has been read despite opposition by some family members.

The late Lulu-Briggs, chairman of oil exploration and production company Moni Pulo Limited, died last December 27 on a trip to Ghana.

It was learnt that despite opposition from Dumo and his siblings Senibo and Sofiri, the Will was read on July 26.

A source said the High Chief left most of his assets in a trust to be managed on behalf of his children and their offspring.

Former Cross River State GovernorDonald Duke is said to be named as one of the four trustees.

The deceased was said to have left substantial wealth to Seinye.

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It was learnt that the late High Chief did not accommodate any of his three elder sons in the Will, but stated that they should be taken care of.

The Will was to be read in April because the High Chief’s lawyers were reportedly aware that it contained his funeral wishes.

However, Dumo secured an ex-parte order from a High Court in Umoku, Rivers State, barring the reading. The order was later set aside.

It was learnt that in the Will, the late statesman expressed a wish to be given a Christian burial and specified that his wife be involved.

Before his death, High Chief Lulu-Briggs lived with and managed increasingly debilitating Parkinson’s disease for close to two decades.

Following his death, there were disagreements in the family, with allegations of harassment, extortion and fraud.

The Amanayabo of Kalabari, King J.T. Princewill Amachree, was said to have waded into the internal crisis.

The police is said to be investigating Lulu-Briggs’ death.

Policemen from Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Abuja were said to have invaded Moni Pulo Limited in Port Harcourt on June 3, spending several hours.

After Lulu-Briggs’ death, seven chiefs from Oruwari Briggs House of Abonnema, Rivers State, claimed in an advertorial that the late High Chief was missing, despite earlier announcing his death.

An autopsy was carried out at the Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana on July 19, but Dumo and his brothers reportedly objected to the procedure and requested that another autopsy be carried out.

It was learnt that Ghanaian authorities rejected the request.

A source said the late Lulu-Briggs made it clear in the will that he considers the settlement payments made to Dumo in 2003 and Senibo and Sofiri in 2004 as their inheritance.

“Now that it has been read, we hope the family can come together, close ranks and show respect to their greatly loved and admired patriarch – the most successful Ijaw man ever in history – by burying him with the simple dignity he has personally requested in his Will,” the source said.