Property Dispute: Late Ohinoyi’s 26 Children Write Governor Ododo

About 26 children of the late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Muhammed Sani Omolori, led by an 81-year-old Hajia Salamatu Sani, have called for the intervention of Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State in the property dispute that has lingered for many years.

In the letter, signed by 26 of his children, they demanded justice in sharing their father’s estate.

They told Governor Ododo that the former clerk of the National Assembly, Ataba Sani Omolori, failed to allow a fair sharing formula for their father’s inheritance.

According to them, they are hopeful of justice given the governor’s honest approach to the issue.

The late monarch passed away on July 10, 1996, leaving behind many children and to date, his estate is yet to be shared among the children.

They said, “Despite our best efforts to resolve this issue amicably, we have unfortunately reached an impasse.

Before the 8th day, the Fidau prayer of Alh Muhammed Sani Omolori, the former Ohinoyi of Ebiraland(18th July 1996), had his briefcase stolen, and in the briefcase were documents of his properties as well as some precious stones (gold, diamonds, and others). Our father had at least seven lands in Abuja: Maitama, Asokoro, Katampe, Mabushi, and others. The theft of these lands and our father’s contract Agreements, amongst other issues, created an impasse, making it nearly impossible to partition his properties.

“Our Brother Ataba Abdulrazak Sani Omolori, the former clerk of the National Assembly and Ciroma of Ebira, at one of our family meetings, promised to bring some of our fathers’ property documents along with him in the following week, which was the agreed next date for our family meeting and deliberations; however, he failed to attend any further meetings called by the family since he made that promise. After one year of struggle to bring him to the table but to no avail, a resolution was reached to involve a Lawyer, and the onus was placed on our eldest brother, Alh. Isa Sani Omolori. He, Alh. Isa declined to save the family’s image.

“The family went to a Sharia Court to seek redress in 2022; the judge, Ado Muktar, struck out the case and transferred it to the grand khadi. The grand khadi called a meeting on the 3rd of May, and for the first time, he (Ciroma) honoured the invitation. A committee of 12 family members was set up, and Ciroma agreed to honour the committee’s decision before the grand khadi. However, he declined two invitations by the committee and didn’t honour the committee’s resolution. The Grand Khadi then sent the case back to court but to a different judge, and at this juncture, the family lost some hope in the Sharia Court.

“Over a month later, on June 22, the family paid a visit to Katampe land only to find out that a certain contractor by the name of Hennes Homes had begun construction on May 15th or got approval from FCDA on May 15th with our company Kareem Muhammed Tata and Sons as Client/Developer. After we confronted them, the directors of our father’s company named above were informed of the development, and they denied any form of involvement.

“A suit was filed for criminal trespass in Magistrate Court at Life Camp. Police were ordered to carry out an investigation, and in the report they submitted on December 6, 2023, our brother Alh Abdulrazaq Ataba Sani Omolori (Ciroma) was indicted.

“All of these are the reasons we bring our cry to you: that justice may prevail and that such will serve as a beacon of hope for every oppressed person and also as proof that it is not a Nation with a price tag.”

Apart from Hajia Salamatu, Bashir Sani, 73, Abbas Sani, Gogo Sani, Adija Abiola Sani, Hauwa Sani, Aziz Sani, Kabir Sani Omolori, and Tijani Sani Omolori also signed the letter.

Others are Sulu Sani Omolori, Ashawu Ahmed Omolori and Saratu Sani Omolori.