Lulu Briggs: Widow appeals as Court orders release of late billionaire’s body for burial

Seinye, the widow of High Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs, has appealed the judgement that ordered the release of the body of her late husband for burial. A Ghanaian High Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour had ordered the release of the body of the late billionaire for burial. The order follows months of legal […]

Seinye, the widow of High Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs, has appealed the judgement that ordered the release of the body of her late husband for burial.

A Ghanaian High Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour had ordered the release of the body of the late billionaire for burial.

The order follows months of legal battle between Seinye  and the three oldest sons of the deceased, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs over who is the rightful person to recover the body of the Late High Chief from the Enterprise Funeral Services Ghana Limited at Lashibi near Tema where it had been deposited since he passed away over a year ago.

READ: 10+1 reasons Rivers billionaire chief, Lulu-Briggs, has not ‘found rest’ one year after his death

The court also took note of the widow’s claim that she would be subjected to cruel, inhumane or barbaric customary practices of the Kalabari people, if the body was sent to Nigeria for burial. Accordingly, the court ordered that the family of the deceased, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, provide an undertaking that they would not allow or suffer the widow to undergo any such cruel, inhumane or barbaric custom, reports Graphic Online.

However, Dr. Seinye filed processes at the Court of Appeal, Accra expressing dissatisfaction with the order of the High Court of December 23, 2019, which among other things ordered the release of the body of the High Chief to the family, led by his son, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs.

READ: Why Rivers billionaire chief is yet to be buried, one year after

Her grounds for appealing against the orders are that Justice Eric Kyei Baffour’s decisions and conduct were occasioned by errors and arbitrariness, urging the Court of Appeal to set the ruling aside.

Other grounds as reported by the Graphic are;

That the learned trial judge erred in determining the Appellants’ substantive suits without affording the Appellants the opportunity to prove their case through a trial.
That the trial judge erred in determining the Appellants’ suit solely based on the affidavits in support and in opposition to the injunction applications before him.
That the trial judge erred in holding that Dumo Lulu-Briggs is the head of the Deceased’s family.
That the trial judge failed to recognize Madam Seinye Lulu-Briggs’ unchallenged permits and approvals to repatriate the Deceased’s body as conferring a right and duty on her to do same.
That having adjourned proceedings in order to hear pending interlocutory applications, the learned trial judge acted arbitrarily in delivering a final ruling on the suit.
That the order of the trial judge is against the weight of evidence on record.

Chief Dumo has expressed dissatisfaction with the appeal filed by her step-mother, noting that, “this threw a spanner in the wheel of progress made regarding the burial of the late sage”.

He narrated some of the incidents leading to the appeal in a statement released on his behalf by Sotonye Ijuaye Dagogo on Sunday.

“Contrary to expected hopes that the mortal remains of the late High O B Lulu-Briggs will finally find its eternal rest in his ancestral home of Abonnema in January as proposed by the children and chiefs led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs die to the judgement given by the High Court of Ghana ordering Mrs Seinye Lulu-Briggs to hand over the remains to family as customs demands. Seinye Lulu-Briggs in a late move got a stay of execution of court order served on the 4th and 5th respondents in a previous suit which she filed and lost out in on the 24th of December 2019. This threw a spanner in the wheel of progress made regarding the burial of the late sage, ”

“Recall that Seinye Lulu-Briggs had taken the sons and family of the late High Chief before a Ghana High Court hoping to get favorable judgement and legitimize her attempt to twist traditions”

“The court in its ruling ordered instead that Seinye Lulu-Briggs IMMEDIATELY hand over the mortal remains of the late Patriarch of the Briggs Family to chiefs led by his second oldest son Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs”

“Subsequently the court also ordered and granted Seinye Lulu-Briggs her prayer that she be allowed to be a part of the planning process for the burial via her representatives which was agreed upon by the family and the chiefs”

“But Seinye Lulu-Briggs was not done yet. She knew that handing over the mortal remains would indeed show that she has been the one delaying the burial of the late Patriarch of the Briggs Family as against her narratives which she has been spreading through her social media handles , so she quickly filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Ghana and asked the court to investigate and see if indeed the custom of the Kalabari people is to hand over mortal remains to family members of a deceased person”

“Seinye also prayed the Court of Appeal to quash the ruling of the High Court of Ghana and rule in her favor to hold onto the mortal remains of the deceased till whenever she agrees to a burial date which will be unilaterally determined by her,” he noted in the statement .