Twist in Ojukwu’s family property dispute as Bianca’s sons retreat from court battle

The Lagos State High Court has scheduled March 10, 2025, to hear the withdrawal of a joinder application filed by Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, sons of Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The application, dated December 16, 2024, seeks to retract their earlier request to join a 2011 property suit involving Ojukwu Transport Limited (OTL). The original suit, marked LD/794/2011, was initiated by Ogbonna Ojukwu and others against OTL. A judgment was delivered in 2018. Justice Adedayo Oyebanji awarded the company possession of OTL’s Lagos properties, including No. 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi. By July 2022, OTL had executed a warrant of possession for all its Lagos properties. Afamefuna and Nwachukwu, who claimed they were unaware of the original suit, filed to join the case last year, seeking an exemption from the executed warrant of possession. They argued that excluding them from the case would lead to a miscarriage of justice, as their interests were directly affected. The late Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was involved in the original suit until his passing in 2011. At the last hearing for the joinder application on April 22, 2024, representatives from OTL, including Director Dr. P. Ike Ojukwu, estate agent Mr. Massey Udegbe, and lawyer Chief Ifeanyi Okumah, were present. However, Bianca, her sons, and their legal team were absent, prompting an adjournment. Meanwhile, OTL has claimed longstanding issues with rent payments for several of its properties. These include a property on 30 Gerard Road, Ikoyi, occupants West African Offshore Limited reportedly owe 12 years of rent to N144 million. 32A Commercial Avenue, Yaba, has been occupied by Foursquare Gospel Church, and rent has not been paid since 2017. 4 Macpherson Road, Ikoyi which has been under police seal since 2015, 29 Oyinkan Abayomi Road, Ikoyi which has been vacant for over two decades and 13 Ojora Road, Ikoyi, described as having a stable tenant-landlord relationship. Following a 2022 judgment by Justice A. M. Lawal, OTL harmonized the management of its assets, reaffirmed Massey Udegbe & Co. as its estate agent, and published this decision in national newspapers. The court’s upcoming decision on the withdrawal application will determine whether Afamefuna and Nwachukwu remain part of the ongoing legal battle over OTL’s properties.