Late Adebayo Alao-Akala, a former governor of Oyo State must be turning in his grave now. His first daughter wants the ex-governor’s corpse exhumed
A legal battle has erupted in the family of late former Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala as his first daughter, Oluwatoyin Alao-Aderinto, has approached the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan seeking a DNA test to determine the true paternity of seven individuals who claim to be the biological children of the deceased.
Alao-Aderinto is also asking the court for an order permitting the exhumation of the late governor’s body to enable the DNA tests.
In the suit filed before Justice Taiwo of Court 12 at the State High Court, Ring Road, Ibadan, with Motion Number I/443/2024, the claimant, through her lawyer Oladipo Olasope, is praying the court to order that the DNA tests be conducted on herself and others listed as Olamide, Adebukola, Olamipo, Olamiju (a member of the House of Representatives), Tabitha and Olamikunle.
She said the tests should be carried out at a court-approved and accredited laboratory to determine their true biological connection to the late Alao-Akala.
Alao-Aderinto is also asking the court to order the exhumation of her father’s remains from the mausoleum built in his Ogbomoso country home for the purpose of carrying out the DNA test.
She pleaded that the results of the tests be filed in a sealed envelope and delivered directly to the presiding judge for pronouncement in open court.
The application is the latest twist in what has become a prolonged dispute over the vast estate left behind by the former governor, who died intestate on January 12, 2022.
Although the crisis had been brewing silently, it became public in October 2022 when one Kemi Alao-Akala and Olamide Alabi, believed to be daughters of the deceased, secured a “Letter of Administration from the Oyo State Probate Registry” without the knowledge or consent of Oluwatoyin, who is the first child.
Alao-Aderinto described their action as a deliberate and unlawful exclusion that violates applicable laws guiding intestate succession in Nigeria.
In an affidavit and accompanying exhibits filed in court, she accused the duo of manipulating facts to gain sole control over the late politician’s estate, despite the existence of other biological children and heirs.
The estate in question is said to comprise multiple properties in Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as a five-star hotel in Ghana, several vehicles and numerous bank accounts containing hundreds of millions in naira, dollars and pounds sterling.
Oluwatoyin said her position is borne out of a desire to ensure fairness so that all the deceased’s legitimate heirs including nuclear and extended family members, loyal aides and other children who may still be unknown are not sidelined.
She maintained that the defendants adopted a “winner-takes-all” approach in handling the estate, despite there being no consensus on the paternity of some of the individuals listed as legal heirs.
Her counsel also referenced a letter dated August 2023 in which he warned that the exclusion of the claimant, who is the first daughter, violated both legal rights and moral standards. He noted that the continued dispute, if unresolved, could deepen division in the family and tarnish the late governor’s political legacy.
Alao-Akala served as deputy governor and later governor of Oyo State from 2006 to 2011. A former police officer, he was widely known for his grassroots popularity in Ogbomoso and across Oyo State.
He died on January 12, 2022, at the age of 71.