By Amayindi Yakubu
A Delta State High Court in Asaba, presided over by Justice M. Obi, has directed the claimant in an estate dispute between Okonkwo Abba and Mrs Patricia Nwamaka to prove the authenticity of a letter of administration dated January 18, 1988 and withdraw an unattended motion filed in 2020.
The dispute concerns an estate allegedly belonging to the late Chief Joseph Okonkwo. Counsel for the claimant told the court that a letter of administration was granted to two female children on January 18, 1988, while the defence contends that the relevant grant is dated May 11, 2005.
At the court, the judge criticized the claimant’s counsel for allowing a 2020 motion to remain unattended, saying the Nigeria Judicial Council had queried why such an old motion was still on the file in 2026. He asked counsel to withdraw the motion without further delay, which counsel agreed to do.
The court heard that the eldest son of the deceased is mentally unstable and that the claimant alleges the eldest daughter sold the property without authority and misappropriated the proceeds of the sale.
Justice M. Obi told the parties that if the claimant proves the 1988 instrument authentic, the 2005 document relied on by the defence could be set aside and the sale declared illegal. The judge adjourned the matter to March 26, 2026, for continuation.
