Boss Picks
World Exclusive: Belgian Appeal Court Gives Judgment on Amb. Deinde Fernandez’s Estate
By Michael Effiong
When he died in Brussels, Belgium on September 1, 2015, enigmatic business behemoth, man of means, internationally-respected billionaire and diplomat, Chief Ambassador Antonio Oladeinde Fernandez would never have imagined that six years after, his family would be engulfed in a ferocious battle over his estate.
The Fernandez Family Feud which had probably been simmering for years reached boiling point when he passed on. His Kano-born wife, Halima Adebisi Fernandez, who was at his bed side when he took his last breath, is facing stiff opposition from his children and family members.
Indeed, this war of attrition almost ruined the funeral service and burial at the Cimetiere d’ixelles in Brussels of the Pan-African leader and Permanent Representative of the Central African Republic to the United Nations.
The aftermath was a public spat between Halima and one of the daughters, Abimbola and it was inevitable that the parties will take their family squabbles to court.
After years of battling at the lower courts, the Court of Appeal in Belgium on March, 25, 2021 decided on this mega case-and from documents exclusively obtained by The Boss, Halima has had the last laugh as the court ruled significantly in her favour!
THE BACKGROUND
Before this court victory, Abimbola, the youngest child of the giant business mogul with an unmistakable booming voice, had gone public about the family’s issues.
According to Abimbola, “Upon hearing the news that our father had passed to glory, we went straight to Brussels same day. When I arrived, I dropped my bags at the hotel and went directly to see my sister, Antoinette at the hospital to say goodbye to our father one last time.
“Our visit was brief and entailed no communication from Halima – not even an invite to our late father’s home. We were told very little information regarding the existence of a will, who is in charge of dad’s estate, funeral plans, and what will be done with sentimental valuables.
“Despite what many people want to think, us children frequented Belgium to visit our father. After losing my mother, Sandra Price, aka Aduke Fernandez, it really put life into perspective for me and really made me value every second with loved ones.
“The last time I had a friendly conversation with Halima was November 2014. Nothing since then, until the call about dad which I wouldn’t even describe as friendly.
“Once the children returned home, we all kept in touch as to figure out the next steps. Dad’s last wishes were to be buried back home in Lagos. This was made clear to Halima amongst many others.
“Our sisters Teju & Gbemi were planning a fitting burial for a king as per dad’s request. We were all under that impression and getting passports, visas etc ready to fly to Nigeria to bury our dad.
“After two weeks I received a phone call from a close friend of our father who informed me that he received a formal invite by mail and phone to dad’s funeral in Belgium. I immediately called my siblings who were gob smacked at the plan put in place to bury our father without our participation, permission and most importantly without inviting us. I don’t know how anyone with sound mind can invite all of dad’s friends to his funeral and not his children
“My siblings tried to reason with Halima to no avail evidently because dad indeed was buried in Brussels against his wishes.
“The day of the funeral, Halima had arranged for the children to be picked up in a shuttle bus while she rode in a Rolls Royce Phantom. Dad owned numerous luxury vehicles such as Bentley, Rolls and Maybach. He had more than enough cars to fit his children and their friends & family but per Halima’s organization, we followed in the bus.
No one had seen the funeral programme until the night before and some of us the day of the service. We scrambled to include readings from us children as many of us were excluded and not even asked to speak at our own father’s funeral.
“The service wasn’t fitting for the king our father is and our opinions read on all of our faces. What struck me as unnecessarily evil was towards the end of Halima’s eulogy she said something along the lines of “and I know you are up there with the only woman whom you really loved, Barbara Joyce” his late ex wife.
“In poor taste, she decides to purposely take a dig at me by excluding my late mother. She took another as we stood at the graveside and she asked all children by name except myself and Antoinette, if we had anything to say in memory of our loving father.
“Chosen siblings went the next day to our father’s home to speak to Halima and try and get a sense of the direction things were going in. She gave them a document and told them not to share it with the rest of the family for 40 days. Of course we now know we only had 40 days to submit time-sensitive information partaking to our father’s estate. Another trick. No words have been exchanged with her since.
“Currently Halima is laying claim to parts of dad’s affairs, on what grounds, I have no idea. We have yet to see any proof of a legal marriage. She is legally fighting us children and has only recently moved out of dad’s home after a detailed inventory was taken to prevent theft of his belongings which by Belgian law belong to his children.
“After the said inventory is when she took to twitter to tweet her horrific slander towards us born with American mothers. She has also gone as far as to publicly say on twitter that our father only has 1 legitimate daughter (he has 6), I do not have the right to use the title HIH which as a child of my father I do, referring to my mother as a wh*re who’s ashes need to be buried as well as plenty of other filth.
“I believe in preserving our father’s legacy but this woman has already ruined it. She is slandering his children to anyone and everyone that will listen, publicly and privately. People speak of not retaliating with her but enough is enough. I am an orphan and I am protecting my mother’s honor as any loving child would. My father was the first to say “Do not take nonsense from anyone” and that, I shall not.
We would like to be left alone to grieve over our father, settle his affairs and take him home to rest”
THE LOWER COURT
The legal tussle ultimately began when Mrs. Halima Fernandez approached the Family Court of Brussels in her quest to execute his will and her wish was granted on February 16, 2017.
She also requested for a Notary, Mr Deschamps to be appointed to proceed with the operations of liquidation-division of the estate. For some inexplicable reasons, Mr Deschamps refused to take on the responsibility of division of the estate as required and thus, Mrs. Halima Fernandez headed to court for the appointment of another Notary.
While she was awaiting the court’s verdict, Mr. Anthony Fernandez, son of the legendary man of fine taste, filed a suit opposing that prayer and challenged it on behalf of his other siblings.
The case was decided on December 21, 2017 and the court pronounced that the opposition against Mrs Halima Fernandez was well-founded and then further declared that because she did not establish her status as a widow, nor the universal quality of the deceased to which she was claiming, as such, her request for replacement of the notary was not applicable.
THE APPEAL COURT
It was based on this that Mrs Halima headed to the Court of Appeals of Brussels, 43rd Chamber, Family Chamber. The case with serial number: 2018/FA/54, Reference No: 2021/255 was heard.
Halima Adebisi Fernandez was the Plaintiff while Mr Anthony Fernandez, Mrs Darnel Abimbola Olumegbon Fernandez, Mr Augustus Adekoyejo Oladipupo Fernandez, Mrs Antoinnete Oyinkansola Fernandez, Mrs Olateju Maria Phillips, Mrs Olugbemisola Frernandez and Mr Alexander Akintokinbo Olanrewaju where Defendants while Mrs Sandra Atinuke Olufunlola Fernandez and Mrs Chritiana Funmilayo Titilola Fernandez were Respondents.
While Halima Fernandez who was accompanied by her Counsel, Mr. Luis F. de Castro wanted the court to nullify the judgment of December 21, 2017, recognize her status as widow and sole beneficiary of the Estate as well as appoint a Notary to proceed with the liquidation and sharing operations, the children who were represented by Mr. Henri Bartholomeeusen said her claims were unfounded. As expected both parties presented their motions and counter motions for the consideration of the court.
For Mrs Halima Fernandez, she had contended that she was in deed married to the late Fernandez who was regarded as the guardian of prosperity and panache.
She affirmed that on October 23, 2003, she was married to the very colourful and classy Fernandez in Kano (Islamic) and through the native law and customs in Lagos.
Halima then stated that the Belgian National Register mentions her as being married to Fernandez since October 23, 2003 and no other marriage is mentioned in regards to the late Fernandez.
That was not all, she contended that she was the sole heir in the execution of the will which the late Fernandez made.
The will produced by Mrs. Fernandez was written on the back of a menu bearing the name of Mr. Oladeinde Fernandez during a dinner served to him on August 24, 2015, while he was hospitalized at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc
She produced a document that showed that his last will was written on that August 24, 2015 behind a menu card where the late billionaire referred to her as the “The Real wife”.
She also said that the date on the menu is wrong only in respect of year which she believed would not affect its validity.
Mrs Fernadez maintained that the document titled “Solemnization of Marriage” of November 6, 1982 which was referred to in a Paris Court of Appeal Judgment in a case between Fernandez and then wife, Sandra Aduke Fernandez was a forgery and requested a postponement to produce a certificate of proof which she claimed was locked in a safe in Kano, Nigeria.
On their path, the children contended that Mrs Halima Fernandez was never legally married to their father. According to them as at the time she claimed to have been married to him, she was still legally married to Mrs Sandra Inett Price Aduke Fernandez.
The averred that Fernandez married Aduke on November 6, 1982 in Oyo and the wedding documents was signed by the Alafin of Oyo.
They also stated that the judgment of the Paris Court Appeal of September 27, 2007 in a case between Antonio and Aduke showed that this marriage existed and they tendered documents.
The family also presented evidence that the children of Antonia and Aduke mentioned both of them as their parents. They produced the the birth certificate of one of the children, Mrs Darnel Abimbola Olumegbon Fernandez and the certificate mentions Sandra Price Fernandez as “his wife’
The court was also made to understand that in a notarized act drawn up in Paris on April, 1993 entitled” Donation by Fernandez to his wife”, the late Fernandez donated to Sandra Price (Aduke) Fernandez the Castle of Bois Fuillette in Oise (France). They averred that the marriage of November 6, 1982 was specifically mentioned.
In addition, a Notarized Act of May 23, 2003 by which Mr Fernandez revoked the donation made to his wife also mentioned the marriage.
Again, the Fernandez couple signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on August 21, 2003 putting an end to various divorce proceedings initiated before a Scottish Court.
In the children’s opinion, Mr Fernandez, a Belgian National was married to Aduke as at October 2003, therefore any other supposed marriage would amount to bigamy according to Belgian law.
The Respondents also contested the validity of the Will because its date is partially crossed out and illegible, and in any case false, according to them.
Another argument they brought forward was that Fernandez was no longer of clear mind during the final days before his death on September 1, 2015. And also the impossibility of identifying the person who had been awarded.
THE PROCEEDINGS
The stage was therefore set for the court to consider the points presented by both sides. The first thing the Court considered was the issue of legibility and jurisdiction.
The late Chief Fernandez, according to records was a Belgian National since 2002 and domiciled in Ixelles, Belgium. The Belgian courts therefore adjudged that it had jurisdiction to the claims relating to the inheritance of his estate in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation No. 65/2012 of the European Parliament and the Council of Jurisdiction.
In the view of the court, the marriage on which Mrs Halima Fernandez relies on was contracted on October 23, 2003 in Nigeria before entry into force of the Belgian Code of Private International Law.
Consequently, in order to determine the laws applicable to the conditions of this marriage, it was necessary to refer to Articles 170 and 170th of the Civil Code. According to the former article 170 of the Civil Code, the law of the country of celebration of the marriage determines its formal requirements, i.e. in this case the Nigerian law.
The court stated that evidence before it showed that Aduke Fernandez had in Scotland made a divorce request on May 29, 2003 before the court of Edinburgh with regard to the situation of their matrimonial home.
As a consequence of that court matter, Aduke and Antonio Fernandez signed an MOU under which terms, Mr Fernandez undertook to pay his wife various sums as alimony and maintenance charges and on the other hand to transfer the Castle in Drumsheugh Gardens and the furniture worth over 300,000 pounds to his wife.
The court papers of that landmark multi-million divorce case in Scotland revealed that Aduke sought a lump sum payment of five million pounds and an allowance of 75,000 pounds a month for three years, as well as sale of their interests in oil wells, gold and diamond mines.
She also wanted 2000 pounds per month for Abimbola who was then below sixteen as well as all fees, extra accounts in relation to her education.
The court also stated that like the children alleged, as at 2007 when the couple were battling at the Paris Court of Appeal, Aduke was still married to Fernandez, though the Scottish divorce proceedings filed by Aduke may have muddied this contention.
It further said that the late Fernandez did not contest his marriage with Aduke before the Paris Court of Appeal which led to the judgment taken by the court on the matter.
In addition, Mrs Fernandez has had ample time since the court’s order of August 19,2020 to retrieve the document she said invalidates Aduke’s marriage which she said was in a safe in Kano, Nigeria but had not done so.
Insisting that in the opinion of the court, the document by Mrs Halima Fernandez could not even invalidate all other relevant documents on the matter as noted by the Paris Court of Appeal.
Based on the submission from Paris, the Belgian Court believed that it may also be noted that the marriage on which Mrs. Halima Fernandez relies on would also contravene the provisions of the Nigerian Marriage Act.
Indeed, according to section 33 (1) of this law, “No marriage in Nigeria shall be valid if any of the parties at the time of solemnization of such marriage is married under customary law to a person other than the person with whom such marriage is contracted”; according to section 39, it exposes her to criminal sanctions.
The court stated “As we have seen, Mr. OLADEINDE FERANANDEZ had contracted in 1982 in Nigeria, a customary marriage with Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ.
“Admittedly, Mrs. FERNANDEZ notes that the Belgian national register mentions that she was married to Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ since October 23, 2003, and the same register refers to a marriage contracted in Nigeria, in Kano.
“However, the court is not bound by the decision of the Registrar who agreed to recognize this marriage⁴.
“Moreover, it appears that no other marriage is mentioned with regard to Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, which suggests that it was in ignorance of the still ongoing union of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ with Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ in October 2003 that a marriage with Mrs. FERNANDEZ was considered.
“The court also notes that it is not known on the basis of which act or other document the existence of a marriage between Mrs. FERNANDEZ and Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ was transcribed or registered in Belgium and that Mrs. FERNANDEZ is particularly confused in her explanations since she claims to have contracted an Islamic marriage with Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ in Kano (Kano State), while at the same time claiming to have contracted a customary marriage with Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ in Lagos State.
“From the foregoing, it is clear that, although for other reasons, the decision should be confirmed insofar as it refused to recognize Mrs. FERNANDEZ as the sole heir of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ
“Neither the photographs produced, nor the attribution of the name FERNANDEZ to the plaintiff, nor the title of Baroness of Dudley (which Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ also held) could lead to any other decision”
The court went on to say that the substantive conditions including in interpretation of the will produced by Halima must be assessed in the light of Belgian Law.
Noting that this Will could not have been drawn up before August 24, 2015 and that the Children had maintained without showing proof that Fernandez was no longer clear minded.
It went on to state “A will with a wrong date is not necessarily invalid. The erroneous date may be corrected when intrinsic and/or extrinsic elements make it possible to determine it, or even to determine only the period during which the will was made when there is no reason to determine a precise date; Such will be the case, in particular, when there is no reason to suppose that the testator was affected by insanity of mind during that period”.
Adding that an error regarding the year by Fernandez is not sufficient to consider that he lacked capacity especially as Mrs Halima Fernandez had presented a document by Dr. Goffin, Head of Nephrology, Cliniques Universitairies Saint-Luc certifying that the late Fernandez had full mental capacity but only had difficulties with mobility of his hands.
The court also asserted that the holographic Will drawn up by Fernandez who was well grounded in Yoruba Culture was to avoid disputes which unfortunately had now occurred.
According to the court, Fernandez clearly considered Halima as his wife. He treated her as such, she bore his name, they lived together and it is not disputed that she was at his bedside during the last days of his life.
In the view of the court, Halima was described as “my wife” by the late beneficiary and not the sole beneficiary of his estate.
It then stated emphatically that though to the Children’s claims that their father was married five times, his fifth wife being Mrs. Sandra Price Fernandez is correct, but she died in 2013 and therefore cannot have been included in the will drawn up in 2015.
Adding “ In any case, there is no reason to believe that, by naming “my real wife” as universal legatee, Mr. Oladeinde Fernandez intended to designate one of his previous wives or someone other than Mrs. Fernandez.
THE JUDGMENT
The Court began by affirming that without being prejudicial to the rights of the legal heirs of Fernandez, it is clear that Mrs. Halima Fernandez is the universal legatee of the deceased.
It stated that Halima’s request for the appointment of a notary in order to proceed with the liquidation and sharing of the estate is admissible and well-founded.
The court asserted that Halima cannot claim to be the sole heir of Fernandez who died in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on 1st September, 2015.
It also confirmed the decision of February 16, 2017 that Mrs. Halima Adebisi Fernandez has the right of holding of the account, liquidation and sharing of the Fernandez estate
The court also went on to appoint Maitre Gaétan Bleeckx, whose office is on 1060 Brussels, place Maurice van Meenen, 2 to act a Notary for the purpose of liquidation of the Estate and related matters.
It also urged each of the parties to pay for their costs of procedures and appeal.
The judgement was delivered on March 25, 2021 and signed by the following: I. Ruydts (President of the Chamber, Judge of Appeal For the Family), M. De Graef (Judge of Appeal for the Famy) and A de Poortere (Substitute )
FIND BELOW THE CASE IN FULL
In the case of:
Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ,
Plaintiff,
Appearing in person, accompanied by her counsel Mr. Luis F. de CASTRO, lawyer whose office is situated in 1050 Brussels, Avenue Louise, 50;
Defendant:
Mr. Anthony FERNANDEZ,
Mrs. Darnel Abimbola Olumegbon FERNANDEZ
Mr. Augustus Adekoyejo Oladipupoo FERNANDEZ
Mrs. Antoinette Oyinkansola FERNANDEZ
Mrs. Olateju Maria PHILIPS,
Mrs. Olugbemisola FERNANDEZ,
Mr. Alexander Akintokunbo OLANREWAJU,
Respondents,
Represented by their counsel, Mr. Henri BARTHOLOMEEUSEN, whose office is located in Brussels, Rue de Stassart, 117, box 9.
Mrs. Sandra Atinuke Olufunlola FERNANDEZ, without known address, residence or any known elected official residence in Belgium,
Respondent,
Did not appear in court, nor did anyone appearing on her behalf;
Mrs. Christiana Funmilayo Titola FERNANDEZ, without known address, residence or any known elected official residence in Belgium,
Respondent,
Did not appear in court, nor did anyone appearing on her behalf;
Having regarded the documents in the proceedings, in particular:
The judgment thereby, pronounced contradictory with regard to Mr. Anthony FERNANDEZ and Ms. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ and by default with regard to the other parties by the Family Court of the French-speaking Court of First Instance of Brussels on December 21, 2017, of which no writ of service is produced;
– The January 23, 2018 petition for appeal;
– The order of August 19, 2020, taken pursuant to Article 748, & 2 of the Judicial Code;
– The summary conclusions of the respondents’ summary of the respondents’ no’s 1 to 7 delivered to the clerk of the court on October 30, 2020;
– The summary conclusions of the plaintiff delivered to the clerk’s office of the court on December 30, 2020.
l. The purpose of the application and appeal
1.
The dispute concerns the estate of Mr. Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, of Belgian nationality (since May 8, 2002), born in Lagos (Nigeria) on August 12, 1936 and deceased in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on September 1, 2015.
2.
Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ had nine children, the present respondents.
The plaintiff, Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ, of Nigerian nationality, born in Kano (Nigeria) on March 9, 1969, claim to have married Mr. Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ in Nigeria on October 23, 2003.
The respondents’ no’s 1 to 7 contest the existence of this marriage, which they claim could not in any case be taken into account, because of bigamy in the case of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ.
Respondents’ no’s 1 to 7 contests the validity of this will.
3.
Originally, the Family Court of Brussels was seized with the request of Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ, directed against the nine children of Mr. Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, seeking, in substance, to have the notary DESCHAMPS appointed to proceed with the operations of liquidation-division of the estate.
4.
By a first judgment of February 16, 2017, pronounced by default with respect to the nine children of Mr. Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, the family court ordered the holding of liquidation-sharing operations and appointed the notary DESCHAMPS to proceed therewith
5.
The notary DESCHAMPS having not accepted the mission, Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ has applied to the court for a replacement of the notary.
In addition, one of Mr. Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ’s sons, Mr. Anthony FERNANDEZ, filed an opposition against the judgment of 16 February, 2017;
The judgment undertaken on 21 December, 2017, ruled on these two claims.
6.
The first judge found the opposition to be well-founded. It set aside the judgment pronounced by default on 16 February, 2017 and declared the original claim of Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ inadmissible, on the grounds that she did not establish her status as a widow, nor the universal quality of the deceased to which she was claiming.
The original request of Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ having been declared inadmissible, the first judge said that the request for replacement of the notary was not applicable.
7.
Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ request the court to nullify the judgment of December 21, 2017 and:
– To recognize her status as widow and sole beneficiary of Mr Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ.
– To appoint a notary to proceed with the liquidation and sharing operations.
The respondents no’s 1 to 7 concluded that the appeal is unfounded.
8.
By an order of August 19, 2020, issued pursuant to Article 748, & 2 of the Judicial Code, final deadlines for the preparation of the case were set, taking into account a new document produced by the Respondents no’s 1 to 7.
II. Discussion
International Jurisdiction of the Belgian Courts
9.
The last habitual residence of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, who since 21 April, 2015 was domiciled at Ixelles, was in Belgium.
The Belgian courts therefore have jurisdiction to hear the claims relating to the liquidation of the inheritance of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ’s estate, in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation No. 65/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of judgments, acceptance and enforcement of authentic instruments in matters of inheritance and on the creation of a European Certificate of Inheritance.
Law applicable to the formal and substantive requirements of a possible marriage celebrated in Nigeria in October 2003.
10.
The marriage on which Mrs FERNANDEZ relies was, according to her, contracted on 23 October 2003 in Nigeria, i.e. before the entry into force of the Belgian Code of Private International Law.
Consequently, in order to determine the laws applicable to the formal and substantive conditions of this marriage, it is necessary to refer to the former articles 170 and 170th of the Civil Code.
According to the former article 170 of the Civil Code, the law of the country of celebration of the marriage determines its formal requirements, i.e. in this case the Nigerian law.
According to the former article 170th of the Civil Code, marriages celebrated abroad are “as to substance, valid in Belgium if the contracting parties have satisfied the conditions prescribed by their personal statutes for contracting a marriage, on penalty of nullity”.
Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ had Belgian nationality since 8 May, 2002.
The validity of a marriage that he allegedly contracted on 23 October, 2003 in Nigeria must therefore be assessed, as far as he is concerned, on the basis of the substantive conditions prescribed under penalty of nullity by Belgian law.
As regards Mrs. FERNANDEZ, of Nigerian nationality, the substantive conditions of the marriage she mentions must be assessed on the basis of Nigerian law.
11.
According to respondents’ no’s 1 to 7, the alleged marriage of the deceased with the plaintiff is in any case not valid, since it would be a bigamous marriage and would contravene the principle of public order of article 147 of the Belgian Civil Code, according to which “one cannot contract a second marriage before the dissolution of the first”.
They maintain that Mr. Antonio OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ had married in Nigeria, on 6 November, 1982 to Mrs. Sandra Inett Aduke PRICE FERNANDEZ, and that as at 2003, he was still married to her, as it would appear from the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal of September 27, 2007, which they tendered.
12.
This judgment of 27 September, 2007, was handed down by the Paris Court of Appeal in a dispute between Ms. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ and OLADIENDE FERNANDEZ, concerning protective measures ordered on the basis of Article 20 of European Regulation No. 2201/2003 of 7 November, 2003, concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, on the one hand, and Article 220-1 of the French Civil Code1, on the other.
13.
Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ disputed before the Paris Court of Appeal that he had married Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ in 1982.
However, in its decision of September 27, 2007, the Court of Appeal of Paris noted:
– That Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ married Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ on November 6, 1982, “according to a customary marriage in Oyo in Nigeria, as it appears from the act entitled “solemnization of a customary marriage” of the same day, emanating from the State of Oyo in
Nigeria, and signed by the Alafin, customary chief of this province, a document whose authenticity is not disputed;
– that the birth certificates of the two children of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ and Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ mentioned that their parents are married; the respondents no’s 1 to 7 produced before this court the birth certificate of one of these children, Mrs. Darnel Abimbola Olumegbon FERNANDEZ, and this certificate mentions that Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ is “his wife”,
– that by a notarized act drawn up in Paris on April 6, 1993, entitled “donation by Mr. FERNANDEZ to his wife”, Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ made a donation to Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ of the castle of Bois Feuillette in Oise (France) and that this act “expressly mentions the customary marriage of 6 November, 1982 on the civil status of the two parties”;
– that the notarized act of 23 May, 2003 “by which Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ revoked this donation made to his wife also mentions this marriage”;
– that Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ had introduced in Scotland a request for divorce on 29 May, 2003 “before the court of Edinburgh, territorially competent with regard to the situation of the matrimonial home”;
– that “the FERNANDEZ couple” signed a memorandum of understanding on 21 August, 2003 putting an end to the various divorce proceedings initiated by the wife before the Scottish court;
– that under the terms of this memorandum of understanding Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ “(…) undertook, on the one hand, to pay to his wife various sums as alimony and maintenance charges, and on the other hand to ” transfer the castle and the furniture to his wife “,
– that no other divorce proceedings were in progress between the parties.
The preceding elements allow us to conclude that, as the respondents no’s 1 to 7 pointed out, Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ was indeed still married to Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ in 2007, when the Paris Court of Appeal heard the above-mentioned dispute, and that he was therefore also married in October 2003.
A possible marriage of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, of Belgian nationality, contracted in October 2003 with the plaintiff, would therefore necessarily be bigamous and no effect can be recognized in Belgium to such a union, which contravenes the Belgian international public order2.
14.
At the court hearing of 21 January, 2021, Mrs. FERNANDEZ certainly maintained that the document titled “Solemnization of a customary marriage” of 6 November, 1982, which is referred to in the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal, was a forgery. She requested a postponement of the case in order to be able to produce a certificate proving this, which is in a safe in Nigeria, in Kano, but which she would not be able to produce, for lack of being able to go to Nigeria because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
The court noted that Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ did not however contest the authenticity of this customary marriage certificate before the Paris Court of Appeal, which the judgment of this court expressly noted.
In addition, Mrs. FERNANDEZ has had the necessary time since the court’s order of 19 August, 2020, to retrieve the document in question, if necessary by seeking the intervention of a trusted third party.
Furthermore, assuming that this document exists, it could not contradict the other relevant elements, also noted by the Court of Appeal of Paris, and largely confirming the existence of the marriage of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ with Mrs. PRICE FERNANDEZ.
Therefore, there is no reason to reopen the proceedings in order to allow Mrs. FERNANDEZ to produce the certificate that she claims to have.
15.
It may also be noted that the marriage on which Mrs. FERNANDEZ relies would also contravene the provisions of the Nigerian Marriage Act.
Indeed, according to section 33 (1) of this law, “No marriage in Nigeria shall be valid if any of the parties at the time of solemnization of such marriage is married under customary law to a person other than the person with whom such marriage is contracted”; according to section 39, it exposes her to criminal sanctions.
As we have seen, Mr. OLADEINDE FERANANDEZ had contracted in 1982 in Nigeria, a customary marriage with Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ.
16.
Admittedly, Mrs. FERNANDEZ notes that the Belgian national register mentions that she was married to Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ since October 23, 2003, and the same register refers to a marriage contracted in Nigeria, in Kano.
However, the court is not bound by the decision of the registrar who agreed to recognize this marriage⁴.
Moreover, it appears that no other marriage is mentioned with regard to Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, which suggests that it was in ignorance of the still ongoing union of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ with Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ in October 2003 that a marriage with Mrs. FERNANDEZ was considered.
The court also notes that it is not known on the basis of which act or other document the existence of a marriage between Mrs. FERNANDEZ and Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ was transcribed or registered in Belgium and that Mrs. FERNANDEZ is particularly confused in her explanations since she claims to have contracted an Islamic marriage with Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ in Kano (Kano State), while at the same time claiming to have contracted a customary marriage with Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ in Lagos State.
17.
From the foregoing, it is clear that, although for other reasons, the decision should be confirmed insofar as it refused to recognize Mrs. FERNANDEZ as the sole heir of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ.
Neither the photographs produced, nor the attribution of the name FERNANDEZ to the plaintiff, nor the title of Baroness of Dudley (which Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ also held) could lead to any other decision.
The Will
18.
Mrs. FERNANDEZ also contends that she is the sole heir of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, in execution of a will he allegedly made on August 24, 2015.
According to the document produced, written in a handwriting that is difficult to read, the last wishes of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ were to bequeath his estate to his “real wife” (read his “real wife” or, according to the respondents no’s 1 to 7, his “real wife”).
The respondents no’s 1 to 7 contests the validity of this will because of:
– its date, partially crossed out and illegible, and in any case false according to them,
– the deterioration of the state of health of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ in the days preceding his death, which raises doubts about his capacity to write a will
– the impossibility of identifying the person who had been awarded.
19.
The substantive conditions (including its interpretation) and form of the will produced by Mrs. FERNANDEZ must be assessed in the light of Belgian law, in accordance with articles 24,§ 1st and 26 of Regulation No. 650/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council mentioned above, which is not contested by any of the parties.
Article 970 of the Civil Code5, and according to which a holographic will is not valid if it is not written in full, dated and signed by the hand of the testator, must be observed on penalty of nullity in accordance with Article 1001 of the same code.
According to article 901 of the Civil Code, one must be of sound mind to make a will.
20.
The will produced by Mrs. FERNANDEZ was written on the back of a menu bearing the name of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNABDEZ, relating to a dinner served to him on August 24, 2015, while he was hospitalized at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc.
The date affixed by Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ is partially crossed out, but it can be read as “25 august 19 (illegible crossing out – may be 8) 4”.
21.
Ms. FERNANDEZ believes that the date of the menu (August 24, 2015) allows for the fact that the date indicated by Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ is wrong only with respect to the year, which she believes would not affect the validity of the will.
A will with a wrong date is not necessarily invalid. The erroneous date may be corrected when intrinsic and/or extrinsic elements make it possible to determine it, or even to determine only the period during which the will was made when there is no reason to determine a precise date; Such will be the case, in particular, when there is no reason to suppose that the testator was affected by insanity of mind during that period⁶.
22.
In the present case, Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ’s will could not have been drafted before August 24, 2015.
Respondents no’s 1 t 7 maintained without showing that Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ was no longer clear minded during the final days before his death on September 1, 2015.
The use of an unusual medium or the error regarding the year indicated by Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ is not sufficient to consider that his capacity was necessarily impaired, especially since Ms. FERNANDEZ produced a certificate dated August 24, 2015, drawn up by Dr. GOFFIN, head of the nephrology department at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, certifying that Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ “has full mental capacity” (read has all his mental capacity”) but difficulties for the mobilization of his hands (“by contrast, he has lots of difficulties with the mobilization of his hands”).
As for the steps subsequently taken by Mrs. FERNANDEZ with the usual lawyer of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, with a view to drawing up an authentic will, they cannot have any impact on the assessment of the validity of the holographic will that Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ had already drawn up. Indeed, it can be considered that the purpose was to avoid the disputes that Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ could have feared and which did in fact occur.
23.
When the testator designates a legatee, that legatee must be identified or at least identifiable⁷.
M. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ did not name Mrs. FERNANDEZ as the sole beneficiary of his estate, but rather “my wife”.
However, Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ clearly considered Mrs. FERNANDEZ as his wife. He treated her as such, she bore his name, they lived together and it is not disputed that she was at his bedside during the last days of his life.
It is true that respondents no’s 1 to 7 mention that their father was married five times, his fifth wife being Mrs. Sandra PRICE FERNANDEZ, mentioned above. But she died in 2013 and therefore cannot have been included in the will drawn up in 2015. In any case, there is no reason to believe that, by naming “my real wife” as universal legatee, Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ intended to designate one of his previous wives or someone other than Mrs. FERNANDEZ.
24.
The decision taken will therefore be overturned insofar as it considers that Mrs. FERNANDEZ is not the legatee of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ.
The request for liquidation and sharing of the estate of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ
25.
Without this finding being prejudicial to the rights of the legal heirs of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, it is clear from the foregoing that Mrs. FERNANDEZ is the universal legatee of the deceased.
Her request for the appointment of a notary in order to proceed with the liquidation and sharing of the estate of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ is admissible and well-founded.
The judgment under appeal will also be overturned in that it nullified the judgment of which opposition was filed on February 16, 2017, which had granted this request by Mrs. FERNANDEZ.
Notary DESCAMPS, appointed by the decision of February 16, 2017, has indicated that he could not accept this assignment. It is therefore rightly that Mrs. FERNANDEZ requests the appointment of another notary.
The Costs
26.
Pursuant to article 1017, paragraph 4, of the Judicial Code, costs may be offset “to the extent assessed by the judge (…) if the parties are unsuccessful on any of the counts”.
In the present case, the parties are each unsuccessful on some of their claims.
Accordingly, costs should be offset in both proceedings, in that each party shall bear its own costs.
NOW THEREFORE,
THE COURT,
In accordance with Article 748, § 2 of the Judicial Code, rules contradictorily,
Having regard to article 24 of the law of 15 June 1935 on the use of languages in judicial matters,
Receives the appeal and grounds as follows;
Cancels the judgment underway, except insofar as it accepted the claims and ruled that Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ cannot claim to be the sole heir of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, who died in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on 1st September, 2015.
Ruling again for the remainder,
Holds that in accordance with the testamentary dispositions taken by Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ, Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ is the universal legatee of his estate;
Confirms the decision of February 16, 2017, insofar as it ordered, at the request of Mrs. Halima Adebisi FERNANDEZ, the holding of the account, liquidation and sharing of the estate of Mr. OLADEINDE FERNANDEZ;
Appoints to proceed to these operations Maitre Gaétan BLEECKX, notary whose office is established in 1060 Brussels, place Maurice van Meenen, 2;
Delivers to each of the parties its costs of procedure and appeal.
This judgment was rendered by the 43rd chamber of the Court of Appeal of Brussels, Family Chamber, on 25 March 2021, composed of:
I. RUYDTS, president of the chamber, judge of appeal for the family,
M. DE GRAEF, counsellor, judge of appeal for the family,
A. de POORTERE, substitute magistrate
Original Court document Translated by: Lonniintrad Interpretation and Translation Agency.
37 Rue de Paris,
93000 Bobigny. Paris.
By Eric Elezuo
The story of the Chairman, Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, and the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, is one told from a multiple dimension. It encompasses passion, love, friendship, camaraderie, collaboration, and more importantly, brotherhood.
Here’s a classic tale of two individuals, who started as acquaintances, transmuted into being friends, and today has become inseparable, not just as brothers, but as ‘twin’ brothers. No wonder the Bible says, there’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother; that’s the story of ‘Demola and Dele. A typical example of Double D. A classic tale of friendship made in heaven.
Both have seen measured successes in their various fields of endeavours. Adeleke, besides being an accomplished entrepreneur, has in his own way, conquered the field of politics, having served as a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and presently serving as the Executive Governor of Osun State.
Momodu, on his part, has not in any way lacked behind. Beyond establishing and sustaining Africa’s number one celebrity magazine, Momodu is an iconic journalist, publisher, businessman and a motivational speaker, who has both working and personal relationships with many influential world leaders. He has been one shot away from the highest office in the land, having contested for the Nigerian presidency, first as a candidate in 2011, and as an aspirant in 2023.
Born same year, 1960, same month, May, the brothers have from time in memorial, shared a common bond that has given onlookers the apertite to ask more questions about their originality. But while one is from Edo State, the other is from Osun. However, the state barriers notwithstanding, Adeleke and Momodu has proved to the world what true friendship means.
Over the weekend when Momodu celebrated his 66th birthday, just three days after Adeleke celebrated his at the Government House, in Oshogbo, the Governor gladly referred to Momodu as his ‘twin’ brother, a motion that everyone readily agreed with. It is worthy of note that while Adeleke was born on May 13, 1960, Momodu was born on May 16, 1960. Friends and associates always insist that Adeleke is three days older than Momodu, and that one fact Momodu has come to live with, and joyously celebrates.
In his message at the birthday celebration, held with incisive discussion on the theme, Ignorance and The Danger of Xenophobia, at the Dele Momodu Leadership Centre, Alalubosa, Ibadan, the Governor extolled the qualities of Momodu, fondly referring to him as ‘my twin brother’. He hailed Momodu for always using his birthday to speak to the conscience of Africa, especially in the last three years.
At the event, organized by The Dele Momodu Foundation, with the theme, “Ignorance and the Danger of Xenophobia.” Speakers at the occasion condemned the rising tide of xenophobic attacks, particularly those targeting Nigerian citizens in South Africa, warning that such hostility undermines regional progress, peace, and continental unity.
DELE MOMODU – MAY 16, 1960
Dele Momodu, without an iota of doubt stands tall among those who have been diligent in businesses, and it is therefore, no surprise that he has stood, and is still standing not just before kings but with kings.
Born Ayòbámidélé Àbáyòmí Ojútelégàn Àjàní Momodu on May 16, 1960, some 63 years ago, Chief Dele Momodu as he is known in the business circle, and Bob Dee, in the social stage, is by every standard a man who is diligent in his business. And it is no wonder that he has not only stood before kings, he had and continues to dine with kings. There is practically no influential person that Dele Momodu does not know across the length and breadth of Nigeria, Africa and on the inter-continental stage. He is that large!
By every standard a rare breed, Momodu is many things in one; journalist/publisher, businessman, philanthropist, actor, politician and motivational speaker. Among all these he considers himself simply as a reporter, and even with a retinue of seasoned staff still ventures into the field to scoop exclusives. Those who have referred to him as a workaholic are not far from the truth. Even he, himself has an oft quoted line thus “those who come from poor background cannot afford to sleep too much”.
A beacon of the Momodu family, Dele, the last of three siblings, was ‘privileged’ to lose his father at the age of 13, and was therefore sentenced to the complete tutelage of his mother, and sometimes relatives. His mother became practically his mentor, teacher and soulmate until she passed away on May 18, 2007, two days after Dele’s 47th birthday. According to him, one of the many morals his mother, who he revered next to God, taught him, is never to despair even when times are tough. Even in her near poverty state, Dele maintained that ‘she didn’t give up on me.’
The accomplished journalist, whose first name was derived from Ayobamidele, meaning “my joy has followed me home”, is a proud 1982 graduate of the University of Ife, (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) where he obtained a degree in Yoruba Language, and followed it up in 1988 with a master’s degree in English Literature.
He kicked off his professional career as a lecturer at the Oyo State College of Arts and Science in Ile-Ife, between 1982 and 1983 while serving as a corps member. He went on to become the private secretary to the former Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, a position he held from 1983 till 1985. In 1986, he was elevated to serve the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, managing his Motel Royal Limited.
Momodu is the proprietor of the no 1 celebrity journal, Ovation International Magazine, The Boss Newspaper and Ovation Television.
The Akinrogun of Gbonganland, who is also the Aare of Iwoland, has also been honoured with the Prestigious Value Leadership award by an organisation, Nigeria, which is a subsidiary of Moonlite Integrated Concept, among an avalanche of awards, honours and tags. Momodu us consistently praised for his admirable efforts, which have not gone unnoticed.
ADEMOLA JACKSON ADELEKE – MAY 13, 1960
Born of the Adeleke family of Ede in Osun State on May 13, 1960, Adeleke commenced his primary education at Methodist Primary School, Surulere Lagos State before he was privileged to relocate to Old Oyo State to continue his education at Nawarudeen Primary School, Ikire.
Adeleke was born Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke to a Muslim father and Nnena Esther Adeleke, an Igbo Christian mother. Like him, Adeleke’s father, Raji Ayoola Adeleke was a Senator and the Balogun of Ede land in Osun State. His father, Raji Ayoola Adeleke was also the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).
On completion of his primary education, he moved on to The Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Ede to begin his post primary schooling. In the later years however, he attended Ede Muslim Grammar School Ede, where he completed his secondary school education and subsequently relocated to the United States of America, joining his two older brothers, who were also studying there.
In the United States, he joined Jacksonville State University, Alabama, and studied Criminal Justice, with minor in Political Science.
To prove doubting Thomases, who wiped up controversies around his educational qualification, wrong, he went back to school and got enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2021.
A businessman and administrator of no mean repute, Adeleke was the humble Group Executive Director at his brother’s company, Pacific Holdings Limited from 2001 to 2016, where his credible performances shot the company to enviable heights; a height it is still enjoying till date.
It is imperative to note that before he joined Pacific Holdings Limited, Senator Adeleke worked with Quicksilver Courier Company in Atlanta, Georgia, US, as a service contractor from 1985 to 1989. His dexterity to work earned him a progression in career, and he berthed as Vice President at Origin International LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, US, a flavours and fragrance manufacturing company. His meritorious stewardship lasted a period of five years, from 1990 to 1994.
Not a few has described Adeleke as the philanthropic capital of Ede, as his influence in aiding the less privileged and downtrodden remains top notch. He is a voracious believer in community development, and has not spared any expense to see that his community receives global influence.
Politically, Adeleke is a beacon of light and hard nut to crack, having remained an albatross to opposing powers and a reference point to ideal administration.
Shortly after he lost his brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who died in April 2017, he contested the Osun West 2017 Senatorial by-election, emerging as the winner under the Peoples Democratic Party, where he decamped to from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Having emerged senator, Adeleke’s political influence waxed stronger, an on July 23, 2018, he emerged as the governorship candidate of PDP in Osun State.
Adeleke ran for Osun state governorship election under the PDP against top contenders Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola of APC and Iyiola Omisore of SDP on 22 September 2018. The election was declared inconclusive by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) while Adeleke was leading, and a rerun slated on September 27, 2018. The candidate of the APC Oyetola was declared winner after the run-off. Adeleke protested the result describing the election as a “coup”.
Much as on March 22, 2019, the tribunal sitting in Abuja declared Adeleke the winner of the election, the Supreme Court later affirmed Gboyega Oyetola as the authentic winner of the 2018 Osun State governorship election on Friday, July 5, 2019
Popularly known as the Dancing Senator because of his penchant to joyfully react to the sounds of music, Adeleke is uncle to one of Nigeria’s popular musicians, Davido.
Governor Adeleke is married to two beautiful women. They are blessed with three children who are all entertainers. They are B-Red and Shina Rambo and a daughter, Nike Adeleke. He is the uncle of one Nigeria’s primus inter pares in entertainment, Davido.
As expected, Adeleke is moving Osun State to the greatest of heights as he promised, and many who know him agree that there are still very many more in the offing even as he navigates his political prowess to win again on August 15.
These ‘twin’ brothers have become a toast of reference. They are hardworking, philanthropic in nature, and always happy.
Yes, always happy as the smiles and dance in their gaits at all times are unmistakable.
Cheers to brotherhood!
Cheers to Ademola Adeleke and Dele Momodu!
By Eric Elezuo
The Koumagnon Family and Allied Families of Seme-Kpodji, of the Republic of Benin, led by Monsieur Alberto Koumagnon, has declared their unflinching support for the candidacy of Romuald Wadagni as he steps out on Sunday to vie for the presidential seat of the Republic of Benin.
In statement of declaration, the families observed that Wadagni is propelled by a ‘vision embodied in this ambitious, realistic project, resolutely focused on the future of our country’.
The declaration is presented in full:
DECLARATION OF SUPPORT BY THE GREAT KOUMAGNON FAMILY AND ALLIED FAMILIES OF SÈMÈ-KPODJI FOR CANDIDATE ROMUALD WADAGNI
The great KOUMAGNON family and allied3 families of Sèmè-Kpodji, deeply committed to the values of peace, progress, and development, followed with particular interest the presentation, on Saturday, March 21, 2026, of the “Further Together” (Plus loin ensemble) social project by our dear candidate, President Romuald WADAGNI.
Following this important political event, and gathering on this day, 04/04/2026, we wish to express our full support for the vision embodied in this ambitious, realistic project, resolutely focused on the future of our country.
From the outset, we, descendants of the KOUMAGNON family and allied families, commend the enlightened leadership of President Patrice TALON who, faithful to his commitment to building a modern and prosperous Benin, has been able to propose to the presidential majority a competent, credible candidate who brings hope for consolidating achievements.
In this dynamic of continuity and progress, the candidacy of President Romuald WADAGNI is fully in line with the continuation of the structural reforms undertaken over several years in all sectors, particularly in infrastructure.
In this regard, we recognize and commend the many achievements of the government, especially road infrastructure, which has significantly improved mobility and living conditions for the populations of the communes of Sèmè-Kpodji and surrounding areas.
Moreover, these remarkable efforts reflect a constant determination to connect localities, stimulate economic exchanges, and sustainably strengthen the attractiveness of our territories.
Building on these achievements and firmly oriented toward the future, we are convinced of the relevance of the “Further Together” project.
Therefore, the great KOUMAGNON family and allied families of Sèmè-Kpodji give their firm, committed, and unconditional support to candidate Romuald WADAGNI, as well as to his running mate, Mrs. Mariam Chabi Talata Zimé Yérima.
In the same spirit, we call on all daughters and sons of Sèmè-Kpodji, as well as all citizens committed to peace and development in our country, Benin, to mobilize massively in support of this hopeful momentum by turning out in large numbers on April 12.
We also wish to assure our dear candidate of our commitment to mobilize widely to ensure a high voter turnout in the commune of Sèmè-Kpodji.
Together, let us continue the efforts undertaken.
Together, let us consolidate our achievements.
Together, let us go further.
Long live Benin on its path toward progress!
Long live the WADAGNI–TALATA ticket!
Thank you.
Done at Sèmè-Kpodji, on 04/04/2026
The great KOUMAGNON family and allied families
By Eric Elezuo
With a loud ovation, Nigerians reveled at the announcement of its billionaire-quartet, Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Otedola, and Abdulsamad Rabiu as among Africa’s richest individuals in 2026.
The four has constantly put Nigeria in the limelight, ensuring that Forbes is never complete without a mention of the giant of Africa, Nigeria
According to the latest Africa Billionaires ranking released by Forbes, Dangote retained his position as Africa’s richest man, with an estimated net worth of $28.5 billion. He added about $4.6 billion to his fortune over the past year, largely driven by the strong performance of Dangote Cement on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
Telecommunications magnate Adenuga also retained his place among Africa’s billionaires.
The founder of Globacom and chairman of Conoil Producing remains one of Nigeria’s most influential entrepreneurs with diversified interests spanning telecoms, oil and gas, and banking.
Otedola, chairman of Geregu Power Plc, also featured on the list despite a slight dip in his wealth over the past year. Forbes estimates that the billionaire investor lost about $200 million following the sale of a majority stake in the power generation company at a discount to its market price.
The increase in Rabiu’s net worth was largely driven by the performance of BUA Cement, whose shares rose 135% over the past year, outperforming the broader rally on the Nigerian stock market.
The 23 billionaires on the continent are now worth a combined $126.7 billion, representing a 21% increase from 2025 after they collectively added $20.3 billion to their net worth.
Across the continent, billionaire fortunes were boosted by strong equity market performance, record corporate profits, and improving currency stability in several African economies.
South Africa remains the highest number of billionaires on the list, with seven individuals, followed by Egypt with five, Nigeria with four, and Morocco with three.
Here is a peep into the world of Nigeria’s Billionaire-Quartet.
ALIKO DANGOTE
For the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and his multifaceted group, playing second fiddle has never been an option. Both the enterprise and the entrepreneur have maintained market leadership to the extent that Dangote himself has appropriated the richest man in Africa status to himself, and has hardworkingly sustained the tag for as long as anyone can remember.
Since 2014, when Forbes magazine named him the world’s 23rd billionaire, jumping 20 spots on the scale from his previous 43rd position among the elite club of the world’s richest people. Aliko Dangote has not looked back, winning back to back the accolade among African billionaires, and never slipping from the world ranking.
Again, as expected, the famous Forbes has proclaimed the soft spoken businessman as Africa’s richest man for the 12th time in a row; a proof that the name Dangote is synonymous with consistency. He is a businessman, who understands that no man rest on his oars if turnovers have to continue to turn over. With marked differentiation, he has demystified the business terrain, and proved that if it can be done, then it must done. His establishment of the humongous fertilizer and sugar plants and the ambitious refinery in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, are testimonies of the trajectory of one who knows his onions.
Worth $13.4 by the last Forbes ranking, which sustained him as the richest man in African for the 11th time, entrepreneur extraordinaire has the following points to his name:
- Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.
- He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
- Dangote Cement has the capacity to produce 48.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa.
- After many years in development, Dangote’s fertilizer plant in Nigeria began operations in mid-2021.
- Dangote Refinery, under construction since 2016, hit the public space since 2024, and is one of the world’s largest oil refineries, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day production.
The above and many has remained the factors that have made it easy for the billionaire to remain in the top echelon of world’s money men, and the supremo among African businessmen. Little wonder he is one of the few recipients of the GCON national honours reserved for top politicians of vice president ranking and top government appointees.
Born in Kano in 1957, Dangote proudly shuttles between three wonderful tags as the richest man in Nigeria; the richest man in Africa and the richest Black man in the world. He has paid his dues, and mankind is the better for it.
Releasing impacts, Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), the private charitable foundation of Alhaji Aliko Dangote. Incorporated in 1994, as Dangote Foundation, is saddled with the mission to enhance opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education, and broaden economic empowerment opportunities. 20 years later, the Foundation has become the largest private Foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor.
The primary focus of ADF is child nutrition, with wraparound interventions centered on health, education and empowerment, and disaster relief. The Foundation also supports stand-alone projects with the potential for significant social impact.
The Foundation works with state and national governments and many highly reputable international and domestic charities, non-governmental organizations and international agencies to advance its humanitarian agenda.
In one of its biggest collaboration to date, Aliko Dangote Foundation started working in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and key northern State Governments in Nigeria from 2013 to eradicate polio and strengthen routine immunization in Nigeria.
Worthy of praise is the fact that nearly a decade, the Foundation has spent over N7 Billion in the course of feeding, clothing and the general welfare of the Internally Displaced Persons in the Northeast.
To make his host communities feel at ease, and the impact of his presence, Dangote has embarked on an initiative to provide further support to improving educational systems in Ibeju-Lekki and Epe locality. The educational support initiative is a tripartite programme consisting of scholarship, capacity building for teachers and school infrastructure projects.
In addition, Scholarships have been awarded to 52 secondary school students whilst some financial support was provided to their parents and/or guardians. Tertiary students will be included in the next batch of the scheme.
Furthermore, about 100 teachers, principals and school administrators were trained in teaching techniques for the 21st century. After which they were monitored in class on how they were using the skills acquired.
There is hardly any sector that has not felt the milk of human kindness running through Aliko Dangote; the military, media, politicians, governments across boards and more.
Dangote is surely an asset to this world!
As at today, there is no space for slowing down for Dangote as he continues to trudge on, creating firsts after first for himself and for humanity. He is blessed with three wonderful daughters, who have followed the rewarding footprints of entrepreneurship, and is looking forward to hitting the richest man in the world status. And very soon too.
ABDULSAMAD RABIU
Abdulsamad Rabiu’s consistent climb on the ladder of success has become phenomenal. The unassuming Chairman at BUA Group has become a study in entrepreneurial discipline, focus, philanthropy and intentional sacrifice. But what can actually be said of a man who has steadily evolved as one of Africa’s biggest investors, in fact, the biggest in the order of reckoning on the Nigerian Exchange. He has graciously used his BUA Foundation and the phenomenal Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative to not only affect lives, but ensured that the people of the world, especially his native Nigeria, live in better comfort. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Bua Group, makers of quality cement, sugar, flour among other wonderful household items has been a epitome of enterprise. He is presently by divine and entrepreneurial orchestration one of Nigeria’s richest investor. He is also the third richest man in the Africa, by Forbes calculation behind Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote, South African billionaire, Johann Rupert.
In 2023, via a list compiled by Billionaires in Africa revealed the rankings on the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, showing that Abdulsamad Rabiu, the billionaire businessman and industrialist, overtook Aliko Dangote as the richest investor in the country, albeit temporarily.
According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, Rabiu’s holdings in his publicly-listed businesses on the local bourse were valued at an impressive $6.01 billion, making him the only investor with an investment portfolio worth over $6 billion then. This is a feat that can only be achieved through wholesome business acumen and dedication.
Born August 4, 1960, in Kano, to one of Nigeria’s foremost industrialists in the 1970s and 1980s, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu CON is a perfect combination of many things in one.
It was in his native Kano that he kick-started his academic pursuit, carousing through elementary education with ease as a gifted child, and obtained his First School Leaving Certificate. He was later admitted into the Federal Government College, Kano, where he had his secondary education, and gradually with honours.
With a combination of fate, brilliance and determination, Abdulsamad was catapulted to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where he studiously studied Economics, and acquired his tertiary education before returning to Nigeria, all before his 24th birthday, to oversee his family business. He was that much sought after, and highly brilliant, and considered capable of holding fort for his father, who was being detained by the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari over matters concerning import duties.
In 1988, just after learning the ropes of entrepreneurial excellence, Abdul Samad Rabiu established BUA International Limited, for the sole purpose of commodity trading. The company followed after the footsteps of his father, and imported rice, edible oil, flour, iron and steel.
In 1990, having exhibited the character worthy of a world class entrepreneur, and the ability to execute classical projects, Rabiu’s BUA was invited by the government, which owned Delta Steel Company to supply its raw materials in exchange for finished products. This provided a much-needed leverage for the young company, and consequently expanded further into steel, producing billets, importing iron ore, and constructing multiple rolling mills in Nigeria.
Rabiu’s dexterity showed further a few years later, when the company acquired Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the largest edible oil processing company in Nigeria, and there erupted the company’s and BUA’s influence and care over the people in the provision of affordable edible oil. His passion to see people excel in comfort has continued to make him churn out one great tiding after another, and endearing him in the hearts of the generality of the public.
A man with a vision for tomorrow, Rabiu, in 2005, started two flour-milling plants, in Lagos and in Kano, and by 2008, had broken an eight-year monopoly in the Nigerian sugar industry by commissioning the second-largest sugar refinery in sub-Saharan Africa. This was a feat only a bravest of hearts could wroth. As a result, in 2009, the company went on to acquire a controlling stake in a publicly-listed Cement Company in Northern Nigeria and began to construct a $900 million cement plant in Edo State, completing it in early 2015. Rabiu’s passion for expansion is unequalled.
BUA Group has since concentrated and excelled in manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture and producing a revenue in excess of $2.5 billion. This is in addition to being the chairman of the Bank of Industry (BOI).
The Group, in 2019, announced plans to merge its privately owned BUA Cement with the publicly traded Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc (CCNN), to create Nigeria’s second largest cement producer thereby consolidating the grip on the cement market and breaking its monopolistic status.
MICHAEL ADENUGA
Michael Adenuga Jr. is one entrepreneur, who has proved over the decades that he is not the regular billionaire. He is of the stock that is not regulated by stock market figures, but by liquid cash. And that explains why his wealth and net worth supercedes whatever figures churned out by any institution, or any position he is placed in the billionaires’ list.
Adenuga is, for all intent and purpose, in a world and class of his own. This is because his business trajectory and personal philosophy are uniquely his, and therefore worthy of emulation.
Sitting atop one of the most cherished and subscribed network, Glo, Adenuga has not only inspired lives, but practically lifted not a few to enviable heights.
Known for his diverse investments in oil, gas, telecommunications, banking, construction, and real estate, Mike Adenuga notably shook up the African telecom sector with the launch of his telecommunications network, Globacom Limited (Glo), in August 2003.
Also referred to as The Guru, Adenuga is like the proverbial Iroko tree, who is unlike any other. In terms of humility, pedigree, magnanimity, wealth and portfolio of investments, he is one of a kind.
“As of Jan. 1, 2024, Forbes, the U.S.-based business magazine renowned for tracking global billionaire fortunes, estimated Adenuga’s wealth at $6.1 billion. By Dec. 31, 2024, his net worth had grown to $6.8 billion, ranking him as the 448th richest person in the world. Adenuga’s wealth is anchored in his control of Globacom, Nigeria’s second-largest mobile telecommunications and digital services provider, which boasts over 60 million subscribers,” according to Billionaires.Africa
Adenuga is fondly remembered for launching operations on Per Second Billing, thus ensuring subscribers only pay for actual time spent on a call instead of the practice of billing customers N50 per minute even when the call cuts off at just 2 seconds. It also crashed the cost of SIM card from N30,000 to N6,999 and later N100, thereby making it possible for low income earners, students and artisans to own GSM lines today. It is now one of the most recognizable brands across the continent.
Love him or hate him, you can’t fault him. He is an enigma. A definition of class, humanity, intellectual discipline and entrepreneurial acumen. He is the very epitome of when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. And of course, a reference point and research material when it comes to philanthropy. Dr. Mike Adenuga doesn’t give little or give just for giving sake. He gives to sort and solve a lasting challenge. Yes, he is Dr. Michael Adenuga Jr., ‘The People’s Billionaire,’ and without introduction, the brain behind the increasingly success stories recorded at the Globacom Group, among his many other conglomerates and subsidiaries.
Known by many appellations, such as the Spirit of Africa, a rare gem, walking kindness, moon amongst the stars, owner of wealth beyond money, the mighty oak, the man with the gift of Foresight, the Bull, Pillar of sports among a whole lot more, Adenuga’s image looms large. He appears little, and achieves so much more. Hardly seen, but gracefully and consistently felt.
Born on April 29, 1953 to Oloye Michael Adenuga Sr and Chief (Mrs) Juliana Oyindamola Adenuga, the Yeyeoba of Ijebuland, Otun Gbadebo of Ikija and Iyalaje of Ijebu-Igbo, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr was not a silver spoon kid, but his parents were comfortable.
The indigene of Oru, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State was born and schooled in Ibadan. He attended the famous Ibadan Grammar School. He had his university education in the United States. He majored in Business administration with emphasis on Marketing.
While in school, to augment the allowance sent by his parents, he worked as a cabbie (Taxi Driver), putting in many hours of work a week. This culture of back-breaking hard work shaped him for his ambitious business adventures later in life.
Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr is married to Mrs. Titi Adenuga (nee Adewale). She provides the comfort and stability that such an incredibly busy man requires. His children are Oyin, Babajide (Bobo), Paddy, Bella, Eniola, Bimbo, Sade and ‘Niyi Jnr. He also has grandchildren.
FEMI OTEDOLA
Billionaire businessman, and Chairman, Geregu Power Plc, simply addressed as Femi Otedola (CON), is a focused and determined man. He made his choice from day one, and has refused to be derailed. This explains his prolific nature in the world of entrepreneurship, which has directed his life.
One thing is very obvious before all and sundry, and that is the fact the dotting father of four adorable children is really an Epicurus son, and has no place for half measures when it comes to giving himself, his business and of course everyone around him the good life.
It won’t be forgotten in a hurry how the philanthropist spent a whopping Three Million Pounds to rent a cruise boat in celebration of his 60th birthday in 2022.
Born on November 4, 1962, in Ibadan to the family of the late Sir Michael Otedola, a former governor of Lagos State, Otedola is a definition of everything good, positive and encouraging. He has lived his 60 years representing the very essence of living, affecting lives as a philanthropist, developing careers and manpower as a businessman, industrialists and entrepreneur, and raising biological children, who has stood their own in the society. There is hardly anywhere this tall, handsome phenomenon of a personality can be faulted.
The billionaire businessman started his education at the University of Lagos Staff School before attending Olivet Baptist High School from where he was admitted into Obafemi Awolowo University in 1980. He graduated in1985.
A former chairman of Forte Oil Plc, the Chancellor of St Augustine University, Epe, Lagos, is the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, and the owner of a number of other businesses across shipping, real estate and finance. He has recently invested in power generation as part of the liberalisation of the sector in Nigeria.
The author of the bestseller, MAKING IT BIG, who has homes in Lagos, Abuja, Dubai, London and New York City has a much impressive existence since he set out to take the bull by the horns in the field of enterprise. This is as chronicled by wikipedia. In 2003, having identified an opportunity in the fuel retail market, Otedola secured the finance to set up Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, a petroleum products marketing and distribution company.
As owner and chairman of Zenon, in 2004 he invested N15 billion in downstream infrastructure development and acquired storage depots at Ibafon, Apapa as well as four cargo vessels, amounting to a combined total storage capacity of 147,000 metric tonnes. The same year he acquired a fleet of 100 DAF fuel-tanker trucks for N1.4 billion.
By 2005, Zenon controlled a major share of the Nigerian diesel market, supplying fuel to most of the major manufacturers in the country including Dangote Group, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Nigerian Breweries, MTN, Unilever, Nestle and Guinness.
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