Court Places Late Billionaire Labode Akindele’s Estate Under Lagos Administrator-General
The Lagos State High Court has taken a major step in the long-running legal battle over the estate of late billionaire industrialist, Chief Labode Oladimeji Akindele, ordering that his vast estate be placed under the administration of the Administrator-General of Lagos State pending the final determination of the dispute.
The decision follows the dismissal of an application seeking to strike out the claimant’s suit and represents a significant intervention in the management of the estate, which has been at the centre of a bitter family dispute over the validity of a purported Will and the control of assets in Nigeria and abroad.
Letters of Administration have been issued and served on the relevant parties, while notices and official boards identifying properties under the Administrator-General’s control are expected to be erected in line with the court’s directive.
The order effectively takes the disputed estate out of private administration while the court determines who is legally entitled to manage and distribute the late businessman’s assets.
The case, Suit No. LD/10/2020, is before Justice Tanimola Ajorin-Ajose of the Lagos State High Court. It was instituted by Oladipo Alade Akindele, who identifies himself as the deceased’s seventh biological child and first son.
Son challenges validity of alleged Will
Akindele is challenging the legal basis upon which his father’s estate is being administered. He is asking the court to declare the purported Will invalid and incapable of determining the distribution or management of the deceased’s assets.
His case centres on alleged irregularities in the preparation and execution of the Will, including questions surrounding its execution date and the absence of a Family Protocol allegedly referenced in the document.
He also argues that the Will failed to adequately identify several significant assets belonging to his father, including properties in different parts of the United Kingdom and a family residence in Spain known as “Nigerian House.”
According to the claimant, the Family Protocol was an essential part of the testament because several provisions of the Will depended on it.
However, he alleges that after obtaining a Certified True Copy of the Will and subsequently inspecting the original deposited at the Probate Registry, he found that no such document had been attached.
He therefore argues that the Will was incomplete and could not be properly implemented without the alleged Family Protocol.
Defendants dispute the allegations
The defendants have rejected the claimant’s allegations, maintaining that the document existed and was properly executed.
In their Statement of Defence, they identify it as the “Sir (Chief) Olabode Oladimeji Akindele Family Constitution” and contend that it was executed by the deceased, some of his children and another family member between October and November 2018.
They further argue that the Constitution was sufficiently incorporated and identified in the Will and that its physical attachment to the testament was not necessary to make the Will valid.
The defendants have also denied allegations that the claimant was deliberately excluded from his inheritance.
They maintain that his exclusion from certain family activities and publications did not amount to evidence of a conspiracy to deprive him of his legal rights or inheritance.
Estate already under previous court protection
The latest order comes against the backdrop of Status Quo Orders previously granted by the court on February 18, 2021, to preserve the estate pending the resolution of the dispute.
Those orders have become particularly significant as the litigation now involves assets and interests outside Nigeria.
Chief Akindele was known to have built a substantial business empire covering several sectors, including maritime services, fishing, finance, real estate and international investments.
His business interests included companies such as Fairgate Group Limited, Fairgate Estates Limited, Fairgate Investments Limited and Madandola Group.
The scale of the assets has consequently turned the dispute into a complex probate battle extending beyond Nigeria.
Dispute extends to the United Kingdom
The legal battle has also spilled into the United Kingdom, where related proceedings concern a Grant of Probate issued by the Probate Registry of England and Wales.
The claimant has alleged that the Nigerian dispute appeared at one point to be heading towards settlement following court-appointed mediation in 2023.
According to his account, lawyers representing the defendants prepared a settlement agreement which he signed, but which was allegedly not signed by the other parties.
He claims that while he was waiting for the agreement to be completed, steps were taken to obtain probate in England and Wales after he failed to renew a caveat against the grant.
Proceedings relating to the Grant of Probate are reportedly continuing in the UK.
Dispute over reading of the Will
Akindele has also alleged that he was not invited to the reading of his father’s Will at the Probate Registry on August 17, 2020, despite being named as a beneficiary.
The defendants have disputed this claim, arguing that the Probate Registry had limited the number of people permitted to attend and that beneficiaries residing abroad were not invited because of the short notice.
They maintain that the circumstances surrounding his absence from the reading did not violate his legal rights.
What the claimant is asking the court to do
Among other reliefs, the claimant is seeking orders:
Declaring the purported Will invalid;
Preventing the Will from being used to administer the estate;
Determining the proper legal basis for administering the deceased’s assets; and
Requiring a comprehensive account of the estate’s assets, income, expenditure and transactions since Chief Akindele’s death.
The court is also being asked to determine issues surrounding the preparation and execution of the purported Will, the preservation and administration of the estate, and the rights of the various beneficiaries.
Who was Chief Labode Akindele?
Chief Labode Oladimeji Akindele, who died on June 29, 2020, at the age of 88, was widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s prominent industrialists and entrepreneurs.
His death triggered a succession dispute involving his children, widows, relatives and long-standing associates.
One of the defendants in the case is Mrs Folake Coker, fashion designer and founder of Tiffany Amber.
Trial underway
The substantive trial commenced on July 3, 2026, although substantial documentary and oral evidence on the disputed issues is still expected to be presented before the court.
Justice Ajorin-Ajose has adjourned the matter until September 28, October 7 and October 8, 2026, for continuation of the hearing.
With the Administrator-General now placed in charge of the estate pending judgment, the immediate issue goes beyond determining who is entitled to inherit Chief Akindele’s wealth.
The court must also determine how the estate will be preserved and administered while the competing claims over the Will, beneficiaries and ownership of the assets are being resolved.
The latest intervention therefore opens a new chapter in the six-year legal battle, placing the administration of the late industrialist’s extensive estate under the supervision of the Lagos State Administrator-General until the substantive dispute is finally determined.
