The daughter of late Justice Moses Bello, a former President of the Abuja Customary Court of Appeal, Ann Bello, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the executors of her father’s will within which to conduct DNA tests on all his children, warning that failure to comply will result in pressing criminal charges against them.
Ann had in a letter, dated February 26, 2025, addressed to Reverend Father Ezekiel Awolumate, through her counsel, Victor Giwa, referred to a recent judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Zubairu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting at Kurudu, Abuja, which declared the codicil to her father’s will was invalid.
According to her, given the declaration of her father’s codicil as legally invalid, the late judge’s last remained the only binding document governing his estate.
Ann had in the suit, marked CV/667/2024, challenged the executors of her father’s will, Reverend Father Ezekiel Awolumate and Christ the King Catholic Church, Okene Parish, contesting the distribution of her father’s properties.
She claimed that Awolumate, who was the first defendant in the suit, had applied a sharing formula of 4.16% instead of the 11.11% stipulated by her late father.
Ann further contended that her father’s codicil had altered the original will’s distribution plan.
She sought a court declaration confirming her entitlement to one-ninth (11.11%) of her father’s shares and stocks and requested that the executors be removed for failing to distribute the estate according to the will.
However, in his judgment of February 5, Justice Zubairu dismissed her claim, ruling that the codicil did not meet the legal requirements.
The judge noted that the document, labelled as a codicil, was more akin to a private letter addressed to the testator’s solicitor and lacked the necessary witness signatures.
In view of the judgment, Ann, in her letter to Rev. Father Awolumate, the parish priest of Christ the King Catholic Church, Okene Parish, insisted that DNA tests must be conducted as a precondition for inheritance eligibility under the will.
According to the letter, which was copied by Dr Alex Izinyon SAN: “We are Counsel to Ann E. Bello, one of the beneficiaries and heirs of the late Honourable Justice Abu Moses Bello, hereafter referred to as ‘our client’.
“It is the instruction of our client that after the death and the reading of the will of her late father, you, in conjunction with other members of the family of Mrs Mary O. Bello, her stepmother, conspired to intentionally disinherit her from her rightful inheritance.
“It is our client’s position that following the court’s judgment delivered on 5th February of 2025, Coram Hon Justice Zubairu of the FCT High Court, codicil of her father having being (sic) declared as mere paper is no longer operational and valid.
“Consequently, the last will is the only valid document and last statement of our client’s late father, which remains binding on you as the executors and other parties.”
Ann’s lawyer, therefore, gave notice to Reverend Awolumate to conduct DNA tests on the late judge’s children as contained in his will as a precondition for their entitlement to their inheritance under the will.
According to the letter, failure to comply with the notice contained in the letter would lead to criminal charges being pressed against the addressee and other persons affected by the provisions of the late Justice Bello’s will.
“We therefore demand that in line with paragraph 5(a)(i) of the last will of Honourable Justice Abu Moses Bello, you conduct a DNA test for Joseph Asuku Bello and 6 others. This remains a precondition for their entitlement of their inheritance under the will, failure of which they should be dispossessed of all monies, properties, and inheritance assigned to them from the last will of Honourable Justice Abu Bello.
“We are by this letter serving you a 14-day notice for the conduct of DNA test or state the step(s) to be taken in compliance with the will.
“Take notice that we shall not accept any alienation, sales, or dealing with any property or asset under the will forthwith.
“Take further notice that we shall press criminal charges against you and other person’s affected by the provisions of the will should you fail, refuse or neglect to comply with this notice.”
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