An 85-year-old woman, Mrs Henrietta Fawehinmi, has sought a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt to order her son, Professor Hakeem Fawehinmi, to restore the original title documents of her properties in the state.
Professor Fawehinmi is a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of the University of Port Harcourt and currently the Vice-Chancellor of a university in Abuja.
Mrs. Fawehinmi’s plea comes after Professor Fawehinmi and one of his siblings filed a lawsuit (number PHC/4500/CS/2025) contesting ownership of a landed property at Orominike Layout, D/Line, Port Harcourt.
Mrs. Fawehinmi requested that the court order her son to release the original title documents for properties at No. 24 Nwachukwu Street, Iboloji Housing Estate, Rumuigbo; No. 17 Emenike Close, Rumuadaolu; and Elekahia Housing Estate, all in Port Harcourt, in her statement of defense and application to be joined in the lawsuit.
She said she had given him ₦82 million, as mentioned in a letter dated July 10, 2025, as a condition for the release of the documents.
Ichie Ikenna-Onu, who bought one of the contested properties from their mother, was the target of the lawsuit brought by Professor Fawehinmi and his sister, Oluwafumi Fawehinmi.
The siblings contended that Ikenna-Onu had no legal claim to the property and that the sale was void.
Professor Fawehinmi, their mother, their late father, and other siblings were directors of Riettafa and Company Nigeria Limited, according to the claims, who are named as the first and second plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
They also alleged that their mother later drafted a will distributing the properties to her five children and nominated Professor Fawehinmi as attorney over her estate.
However, Mrs. Fawehinmi denied the will’s existence and legality, claiming that she canceled all gift deeds to her children after the properties caused ongoing strife and discord between them.
She defended herself by claiming that her first son neglected her and forced her to give him the assets while she was still alive.
She went on to say that he failed to provide for her even though she had sponsored his schooling and built a hospital for him in Port Harcourt, which she claimed he later sold.
She further claimed that her children, particularly the first and second claimants she supported overseas, were preoccupied with fighting over her possessions rather than providing her with care or money.
Mrs Fawehinmi further alleged that Professor Fawehinmi, who she said is not a director in her firm, withdrew her as a signatory to the company’s bank account and made himself the sole signatory, thereby preventing her access to her own company account.
She insisted that all the properties involved in the case, including plots 178, 179, and 201 at Orominike Layout, D/Line, which she sold to Ichie Ikenna-Onu, belonged to her personally and not to Riettafa and Sons Nigeria Limited.
Mrs Fawehinmi told the court that she would only cease selling her remaining assets if her children reconcile, resolve their long-standing issues, reconnect as a family, and begin to care for her as their mother.
In the meantime, Ichie Ikenna-Onu, the first defendant, sought the court to dismiss the lawsuit, calling it a “gold-digging” exercise, and denied knowing about the claims stated in paragraphs one through twenty-three of the claimants’ statement of claim.
