*’War’ Over Inheritance, Choice Properties
*Former Head Of State Gen AbdulSalami Abubakar’s Futile Intervention
*How Emir’s Dispute Resolution C’ttee Failed
*The Court Angle
By Achadu Idibia Gabriel, Kaduna
Tempers are running high in the household of former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), the late Alhaji Gidado Idris, as his children have accused their stepmother of shunting them out of their inheritance, even against court order.
According to them, the inheritance includes choice properties and others.
Alhaji Idris served doubly as SGF/Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) from 1995-1999, during the now-late General Sani Abacha military junta.
He was born in 1935 and passed away in 2017.
Speaking in an interview on behalf of his six siblings, one of the late Idris’ sons, Saidu, alleged that since their father’s death, they had been barred from entering his residence located in a choice part of the federal capital, Abuja, to take inventory of his belongings as prescribed under Islamic Law.
Saidu said: “We, the seven siblings from our late mother’s side, have not been allowed into our father’s room to see his Will or property documents. This is contrary to Islamic injunctions. It is clear to us that there is injustice and inhumanity here.”
According to him, an initial court ruling awarded the late SGF’s Aso Drive residence in Abuja and another house at Coronation Crescent in Kaduna to their stepmother.
Dissatisfied with certain goings-on, Saidu added, the siblings appealed and secured a court judgment granting them properties in Zaria, alleging further that those assets were later sold by their stepmother.
He said the court subsequently ordered her to compensate them with the sum of ₦185 million, a judgment allegedly flouted to date.
The Upper Sharia Court in Kaduna reportedly ruled in 2020 that the stepmother should pay the children ₦185 million, but, according to the complainants, she has not yet complied.
The aggrieved siblings said efforts to resolve the matter outside court also failed.
Saidu disclosed: “I contacted General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who involved the Emir of Zazzau to set up a committee.”
He alleged also: “But the committee was biased and could not resolve the dispute. They even offered us land along Kaduna-Zaria road, but we rejected it. Our father gave us properties before he died, yet our stepmother sold them all.”
He added that although they have since withdrawn the case from court, they decided to bring their plight to the public domain and rights groups to intervene.
“Our father was a just and gentle man. He couldn’t have died without leaving a Will. We believe it is locked in the room we have been denied access to. We want Nigerians to know the truth, because this injustice is painful. We need prayers, sympathy and intervention. It appears our stepmother is above the law,” he said.
The late Idris was survived by a wife and 12 children. While alive, his family consisted of three wives -one dead, one divorced, and the surviving widow at the centre of the current controversy.
As at the time of filing this report, efforts to reach the stepmother for her reaction were unsuccessful.
PHOTO CAPTION: Saidu Idris.
