Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, son of late billionaire oil mogul, Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs, has allegedly cancelled the burial of his late father for the fourth time.
Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs had in December announced January 25, 2020, as the internment date for the late philanthropist.
Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs who died on December 27th 2018 at 88 is yet to be buried over the protracted family crisis on who should take over his estate.
Dumo while responding to Governor Wike’s offer for the state government bury the late oil mogul said “By the 27th of December 2019, it would be a year since my father and our Paramount head died and our desire is that the Chiefs of Oruwari House would go to Accra, Ghana and receive the mortal remains of their late Paramount head and bring him to a mortuary in Port Harcourt and plan his funeral. By the grace of God, we would give him a very befitting burial on January, 25th, 2020 after the Christmas festivities.
“This is the position of the chiefs and members of the family and we ask all well-meaning persons to prevail on Mrs O.B. Lulu-Briggs to unconditionally release the mortal remains of our chief, father and husband to the Oruwari Briggs House of Abonnema through the head of the family, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs. When this happens, we shall inform the Rivers State Government, the Amanyanabo of Kalabari and all stakeholders accordingly.
“It is the tradition all over, that the mortal remains of a man go to the family through the family head which by the special grace of God happens to be my humble self. My father made me Chief in his lifetime; and he knew that at his passing, I will be the head of the house which is not in dispute.
“So far, the problem is the refusal of Dr (Mrs) Seinye Lulu-Briggs to release the mortal remains of her late husband to the Oruwari Briggs War Canoe House through me, Chief Dumo O. B. Lulu-Briggs, the Chief Mourner. Instead, she has instituted court actions in Accra, Ghana that the mortal remains of our father should not be released to anybody except to her.
“How do we plan a funeral when we don’t have custody of the body? So, if by the grace of God the body is released to us, we shall go in our numbers and in the dignity that our father deserves and bring him to Port Harcourt for a befitting burial. Seinye as the wife has all the liberty to play her role as prescribed by Kalabari custom and tradition”.
But Seinye, widow of the deceased who welcomed the announced burial date in December, alleged that Dumo has cancelled the internment.
In a statement released by her spokesperson, Oraye St. Franklyn and made available to journalist, she said believes that the burial is still achievable because the pre-conditions which the Ghana High Court ordered Dumo to fulfil before by the release of his father’s body for burial by the Ghanaian police and the mortuary are not difficult.
She further clarified that she was not ordered to release the body of her husband as Dumo falsely claims in the media.
The order according to her and as contained in the judgement of the High Court of Ghana was directed at both the Ghanaian Police and the mortuary who have custody of the body.
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“Dr Mrs Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs believes that Dumo’s hurried and unilateral cancellation of the burial of his father for the fourth time is indicative of his unwillingness to lay him to rest. She, however, maintains that the cancellation is unnecessary and that the excuse that her appeal of the High Court Judgement is responsible for the postponement is untrue and grossly misleading.
“Dr Mrs Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs repeats that her appeal was made because Dumo without fulfilling any of the three pre-conditions imposed on him by the Court Judgement had gone to the mortuary to pick up the body of her husband in the company of her supposed nominated representatives none of whom she knew, authorized or whose identities she could verify. She views that action as desperation taken too far and part of a sinister plot to obtain the body of her husband in order to wickedly tear it open yet again in the guise of conducting a private autopsy; a sinister autopsy that would fabricate false evidence supporting Dumo’s contrived allegation of her killing her 88-year-old husband whom she cared for and loved for more than 2 decades.
“Dumo Lulu-Briggs was ordered by the High Court of Ghana to give the following binding, unconditional undertakings: “That the delegation led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs that will convey the body of the deceased to Nigeria, should include two representatives of the Plaintiff/Widow, who should be part of the delegation that will convey the body to Nigeria;
”That the family of the deceased, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, will give a binding unconditional undertaking that, under no circumstance will the family allow or suffer the Plaintiff/Widow to undergo any cruel, inhuman or barbaric customary practices in Nigeria, when the body is conveyed;
“That the family, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, will further undertake that the Plaintiff/Widow will be ably represented in the burial and funeral preparations, and will be allowed to play her role as a widow mourning her deceased husband.”
“The court went further to order the filing of the report of the autopsy done on the deceased, which has been complied with. But the release of the filed autopsy report is now being blocked by an appeal by Dumo Lulu-Briggs. To what end, she asks. Possibly because Dumo does not wish the public to know that the filed autopsy report clearly stated that the High Chief Dr O. B. Lulu-Briggs died of natural causes.
“Dr Mrs Seinye Lulu-Briggs maintains her earlier assurance that should Dumo fulfil the above-stated binding, unconditional undertakings imposed on him by the High Court of Ghana and allow the release of the report of the duly conducted autopsy on his father, which he instigated; she would withdraw her appeal against the judgment. Nevertheless, she questions the motive behind obtaining the body for burial without any clear burial plan. In her view, custody of the body is not necessary for planning the burial. She says that the blocking of the release of the report of the duly conducted autopsy, as well as the call for another autopsy by Dumo Lulu-Briggs, confirm her position that he is desperate to obtain the body because of his sinister motives and not necessarily for burial.
“Dr. Mrs. Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs recalls that Dumo Lulu-Briggs approached both the Police and a Magistrate Court in Ghana to organize an autopsy that did not provide representation for her, whom he falsely accused of killing her 88-year-old husband. To legally and legitimately protect herself and ensure the autopsy process was fair to all Parties involved (ie. both the accused and the accuser), she approached the High Court to ensure the autopsy process provided and guaranteed representation for her, her accuser Dumo Lulu-Briggs, the Nigerian Police, the Ghanaian Police and Interpol; and it was done. Dr. Mrs Seinye Lulu- Briggs, Dumo Lulu-Briggs and the Ghanaian government had two representative pathologists each.
“The President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Adedayo Faduyile, was one of Dumo’s representative Pathologists. To this day none of all the six Pathologists involved in the autopsy procedure, including Dumo’s representatives, has queried the process which was conducted by the Ghanaian Military at the 37 Military Hospital in Ghana. The Ghanaian Police in a letter (see attachment) responding to a needless written protest by Dumo against the autopsy even while it was ongoing, given that it wasn’t being done as he would have wanted (ie. as a private autopsy) confirmed to him in writing thereafter that the autopsy was done according to the set standard.
“Dr Mrs Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs is of the firm belief that the reason Dumo is desperately clamouring for his private autopsy is to manipulate the outcome in order to procure a false report to use as the compelling tool in forcing her to set aside her husband’s last wishes as contained in his Last Will and Testament. Dr Mrs Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs states clearly that she maintains both her innocence and unpreparedness to set aside her husband’s last wishes as contained in his Last Will and Testament.
“Further, she states categorically that upon compliance with the three preconditions of the Ghanaian High Court order by Dumo and the release of the autopsy report, the 25th of January burial date as announced by Dumo and the Chiefs of Briggs compound is still very achievable. She says she wants her husband buried and that he should be buried on the 25th of January, 2020.”
