85-year-old woman sues son over property documents in Rivers
85-year-old woman sues son over property documents in Rivers
An 85-year-old woman, Mrs Henrietta Fawehinmi, has dragged her son, Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi, before the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt over the custody of title documents to several properties in the state.
Mrs Fawehinmi is asking the court to compel her son to return the original ownership documents of her properties, which she claims he is unlawfully withholding.
Professor Fawehinmi, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, is currently the Vice-Chancellor of a university based in Abuja.
The dispute reportedly arose after Professor Fawehinmi and his sister, Oluwafumi, instituted a suit against one Ichie Ikenna-Onu, who purchased one of their mother’s properties. They alleged that the transaction was invalid.
However, Mrs Fawehinmi maintained that she is the legitimate owner of the property and lawfully sold it to Ikenna-Onu.
In her suit, the elderly woman claimed that she paid her son the sum of ₦82 million for the return of the property documents, but he allegedly refused to hand them over.
She stated that although she had initially entrusted the documents to her children, she later revoked the arrangement due to unresolved conflicts.
Mrs Fawehinmi further accused her son of abandoning her in her old age and mounting pressure on her to transfer ownership of the properties to him.
She told the court that she sponsored her son’s education and even established a hospital for him, but alleged that he had failed to reciprocate by supporting her welfare.
The properties at the centre of the dispute are located at Orominike Layout, Nwachukwu Street, Emenike Close, and Elekahia Housing Estate, all within Port Harcourt.
In his response, Ichie Ikenna-Onu denied any knowledge of the claims against him and urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as a “gold-digging” exercise.
The court is expected to determine the rightful ownership of the properties and whether Professor Fawehinmi should be ordered to return the title documents to his mother.
