A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has ruled that Adenike Oluwayemisi Ajayi is the sole legally recognized widow of the late founder and Chief Executive Officer of First Foundation Hospital, Dr. Tosin Ajayi, bringing an end to a prolonged legal dispute over his marital status and estate.
According to judicial
proceedings, Justice Oluwayoyin Odusanya delivered the judgment on Wednesday,
granting all the reliefs sought by Mrs. Ajayi and her children while dismissing
the claims of former beauty queen Helen Prest, who had also sought recognition
as the deceased’s spouse.
The legal battle began in 2021,
following the death of Dr. Ajayi on April 26, 2020, with both parties laying
claim to spousal status and rights over his estate. After nearly five years of
litigation, the court concluded that Mrs. Ajayi remained legally married to the
renowned medical practitioner until his death.
In her ruling, Justice Odusanya
emphasized that the couple’s extended period of separation did not amount to
the dissolution of their monogamous marriage, stressing that separation alone
cannot terminate a valid marriage without a formal legal process.
The court agreed with the
submissions of counsel representing Mrs. Ajayi and her children, affirming that
the marriage between the late doctor and Mrs. Ajayi remained valid throughout
his lifetime.
A key issue in the case centered
on Helen Prest’s assertion that she entered into a Kalabari customary marriage
with Dr. Ajayi. However, the court held that she failed to provide credible
evidence to substantiate the claim.
Justice Odusanya described the
alleged customary marriage as an afterthought, pointing out inconsistencies in
Prest’s previous legal positions, where she had alternatively described herself
as a common-law partner and, at another time, as being in a civil-law union
with the deceased.
The court further noted that
Prest was unable to establish critical details of the alleged customary
marriage, including its date and venue, and failed to produce documentary or
photographic evidence to support her claim.
Additionally, the court ruled
that even if such a customary marriage had taken place, it would have been
invalid because evidence showed that Prest was still legally married to her
former husband, Mr. Davies, at the time she claimed to have married Dr. Ajayi.
Consequently, the court dismissed
all her claims to spousal status and affirmed Mrs. Ajayi as the only lawful
spouse of the late hospital founder.
The judgment also upheld Mrs.
Ajayi’s entitlement to one-third of Dr. Ajayi’s personal estate and declared
that she is the only spouse legally qualified to apply for letters of
administration over the estate.
The ruling effectively settles
the dispute at the High Court level and reinforces the legal principle that a
valid marriage remains intact despite prolonged separation unless it is
formally dissolved.
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