A Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has declared Mrs. Adenike Ajayi the sole lawful widow of Dr. Tosin Ajayi, the late founder of First Foundation Hospital. The judgment, delivered by Justice Oluwayoyin Odusanya on Thursday, also rejected the claim of former beauty queen Helen Prest that she was a spouse of the deceased.
The court granted all the reliefs sought by Mrs. Ajayi and her children. Justice Odusanya held that Mrs. Ajayi remained legally married to Dr. Ajayi until his death, and that their monogamous marriage was never dissolved. The judge rejected arguments that the couple's prolonged separation amounted to a termination of their marriage.
"Separation, regardless of its duration, doesn't automatically dissolve a legally valid marriage," the judge said.
The case began in 2021, a year after Dr. Ajayi died on April 26, 2020. The dispute was over who should inherit his estate and who should be recognised as his surviving spouse. The proceedings lasted nearly five years.
A major issue was Helen Prest's claim that she'd contracted a Kalabari customary marriage with Dr. Ajayi. But the court found she failed to provide credible evidence. Justice Odusanya described the customary marriage claim as an afterthought, noting that Prest had adopted inconsistent positions in earlier legal proceedings.
In previous suits, Prest had described herself as a common-law partner and, at another time, as being in a civil-law union with the deceased. The court observed she couldn't establish essential elements of the alleged customary marriage, including the date and venue of the ceremony. There was no documentary or photographic evidence to support her claim.
Even if the customary marriage had been proven, the court held it would still have been invalid. Evidence showed that Prest was still legally married to her former husband at the time she claimed to have married Dr. Ajayi.
The court dismissed Prest's claim to spousal status entirely. It affirmed Mrs. Ajayi as the only legally recognised spouse of the deceased. Justice Odusanya also upheld Mrs. Ajayi's entitlement to one-third of Dr. Ajayi's personal estate and ruled that she is the only spouse entitled to apply for letters of administration over the estate.
The judgment resolves the dispute at the High Court level. It reinforces the legal principle that separation alone doesn't terminate a valid marriage in the absence of a formal dissolution. Mrs. Ajayi and her children secured all the reliefs they sought, while Helen Prest's claims were rejected in full.
Who are the key figures?
Dr. Tosin Ajayi was a well-known medical doctor and founder of First Foundation Hospital in Lagos. He died on April 26, 2020, at the age of 59. His death sparked a legal battle between two women claiming to be his widow.
Mrs. Adenike Ajayi was legally married to Dr. Ajayi under a monogamous marriage. She has children with the deceased. Her legal team was led by Mr. Kunle Adegoke, SAN.
Helen Prest is a former beauty queen who won the Miss Nigeria pageant in the 1980s. She claimed to have contracted a Kalabari customary marriage with Dr. Ajayi. The court rejected her claim, noting she couldn't provide evidence and had taken inconsistent legal positions.
What happens next?
The judgment is at the High Court level. Either party could appeal to the Court of Appeal. For now, Mrs. Ajayi can proceed with applying for letters of administration over Dr. Ajayi's estate. The ruling settles who is the lawful widow, but the full distribution of the estate may still involve legal processes.