Court Declares Adenike Ajayi Sole Widow of First Foundation Hospital Founder
A Lagos High Court has ruled that Mrs. Adenike Oluwayemisi Ajayi is the only lawful widow of the late Dr. Tosin Ajayi, founder and CEO of First Foundation Hospital, ending a five-year legal battle over his estate.
Justice Oluwayoyin Odusanya delivered the judgment Wednesday at the Ikeja High Court, granting all reliefs sought by Mrs. Ajayi and her children. The court dismissed claims by former beauty queen Helen Prest that she was also married to the late medical practitioner.
The dispute began after Dr. Ajayi died on April 26, 2020. At issue was who qualified as his legal surviving spouse and heir to his estate.
The ruling:
Marriage never dissolved: Justice Odusanya held that Mrs. Ajayi remained legally married to Dr. Ajayi until his death. Their monogamous marriage was never terminated, and the court stressed that prolonged separation does not dissolve a valid marriage.
Customary marriage claim rejected: Prest claimed she contracted a Kalabari customary marriage with Dr. Ajayi. The court found no credible evidence to support this, calling the claim an afterthought.
Inconsistent positions: The judge noted Prest had previously described herself in other suits as a common-law partner and as being in a civil-law union with the deceased.
Missing details: Prest failed to establish basic elements of the alleged customary marriage, including the date and venue.
Counsel to the claimants, Kunle Adegoke, SAN, argued that the marriage between Dr. Ajayi and Mrs. Ajayi subsisted throughout his lifetime. The court agreed.
The proceedings lasted nearly five years before Wednesday’s verdict, closing one of Lagos’s most watched estate disputes.
