These are not the best of times for Mohammed Ataba Sani-Omolori, the former National Assembly clerk, who on Wednesday was directly confronted by his younger siblings for sitting on their father’s N7 billion estate.
The battle over the estate of the late
Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRH Alhaji Muhammed Sani Omolori, became messier when the
family met and Ataba was confronted with the allegation of sitting on their
inheritance for the past 27 years.
Like a man caught in the act, Ataba
reportedly became speechless in the presence of his younger siblings over his
role in the alleged diversion of their late father’s fortune.
Ataba was
confronted with the allegation at the meeting convened by the Grand Khadi of
the FCT Sharia Court of Appeal, Ibrahim Rufai Imam, on Wednesday.
Some of the former NASS Clerk’s siblings had
dragged him before the Sharia Court in Gudu, Abuja, after several failed
attempts to get him to surrender their share of properties left behind by the
late Kogi State monarch.
It was reported that the Grand Khadi
summoned the monarch’s children with a view to getting them to resolve the
crisis out of court.
But one of the monarch’s children who
narrated what transpired at the meeting to this website said the Grand Khadi’s
effort did not yield the desired results, and the family is left with no option
but to proceed with the lawsuit against Ataba.
No fewer than 17 members of the Omolori
family including Ataba attended the meeting convened by the Grand Khadi.
Alh. Abbas Sani Omolori, who is in Ataba’s
age group and spoke on behalf of some of the family members, reiterated that
the former NASS clerk refused to relinquish the late monarch’s N7 billion
properties more than two decades after his death.
“Some members spoke that they believe Ataba
couldn’t be that wicked to steal from the family, however, a sister made clear
her findings from AGIS (Abuja Geographic Information System) which show how
Ataba sold the properties,” one of the monarch’s children told our
correspondent.
But Ataba and some siblings siding with him
were said to have maintained his earlier stance that their late father gave out
some of the properties.
The family source, however said that “documents on some of the stolen properties were presented on how he
(Ataba Sani Omolori) sold them (including) one of those lands (in Katampe) that
was acquired with our fathers’ company and he (Ataba) was not even a director
in the company.”
The family member said when documents for one
of the properties in Maitama, Abuja, were being presented, “Ataba interjected,
saying that this is not the time and place for such but he was however reminded
by the presenter who is the youngest brother in attendance that he (Ataba) is
not the umpire, therefore he should not do the job of the Grand Khadi.”
The family source said Ataba neither directly
denied nor accepted the allegation that he sold some of the properties after
the late monarch passed away.
Ataba was said to have told the meeting that
“there was more that many didn’t know (about the estate) and he didn’t do
anything without his father’s knowledge.”
But the family source noted some of the
properties “were sold by him (Ataba) years after our father passed away.”
The Grand Khadi was said to be disappointed
that the family could not amicably resolve the battle as the siblings were
divided into two between “those who without evidence believed him (Ataba) and
those who presented facts asking for justice.”
The Grand Khadi who personally knew the late
Ohinoyi told the family that if they fail to resolve the crisis, their option
would be to continue with their legal battles at the upper area court.
“He however spoke about the implications of
sharia on some of his observations and cautioned the family. 12 family members
were selected to discuss the matter and get back in a month,” said the family
source.
The late Sani Omolori who was also a
businessman passed away in 1996, leaving behind a vast fortune and a family
dynamic that became complicated after the alleged theft of a briefcase
containing relevant documents and other valuables pertaining to his estate one
week after his death.
Ataba was accused of hoarding the inheritance
for himself for 27 years, while his siblings struggled to make ends meet.
According to the family source, Ataba had
been unresponsive to their requests for transparency about the status of the
estate and how it should be shared.
“The youngest among us at the time of our
father’s passing was just five years old. Today about ten (10) of us have died,
mostly in their early thirties, dying of preventable causes, if there were
basic resources,” another family source said.
Our correspondent made efforts to get Ataba’s
reaction to the allegations but several calls put across to his phone were
bounced. He equally failed to respond to a text message sent to his phone.
THE WHISTLER
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