Late Lulu-Briggs body handed over to sons, kinsmen

The body of the late Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist, High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, was on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, handed over to his kinsmen, led by Dumo Lulu-Briggs, one of his sons.

Managers of the Enterprise Funeral Services Ghana Limited, (Transitions), where the body had been since the death of the 88-year-old in December 2018, handed it over to the kinsmen late Tuesday afternoon.

It followed a failed motion for an injunction by the widow, Seinye Lulu-Briggs to restrain Transitions and the Attorney General from releasing the body to the family as earlier ordered by the High Court, pending a decision on the validity of an order for an inquest made by the Kaneshie District Court 2 in Accra.

Justice Daniel Mensah sitting at the High Court (General Jurisdiction) in dismissing the motion on Tuesday, ruled that he was not convinced why the body ought to remain in Ghana any further.

Justice Mensah who had overruled an objection to the motion by Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, counsel for the kinsmen, dismissed it soon after listening to Lawyer Kimathi Kuenyehia, lead counsel for the widow.

Victoria Barth, Lawyer for Transitions had argued for the release of the corpse in accordance with the High Court order to release the body to the late Lulu-Briggs family, and suggested that Transitions was ready to release the body to Dumo and his siblings.

High Chief O.B. Lulu-Briggs allegedly died soon on arrival at the Kotoka Airport in Accra on December 27, 2018, however litigation over which of the widow and the biological family had the right to bury and perform the funeral rites held the body in Ghana.

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On December 23, 2019, the High Court presided by Justice Eric Kyei-Baffour, a Court of Appeal Judge but sitting with additional responsibilities to the High Court, ordered among others, the release of the body to the biological family led by Dumo and his brothers for burial and funeral rites.

The widow however, appealed against the orders at the Judge, saying she was dissatisfied with the order to hand over the body. She also faulted some other orders by the judge, and went ahead to the Supreme Court to challenge the judge’s jurisdiction to give those orders.

On February 14, 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal Judge sitting as a High Court Judge.

Following the decision of the Supreme Court, the widow then filed for an injunction to restrain the Attorney General and the Transitions home from handing over the body to Dumo and co, which has since been dismissed.

As the body of High Chief O.B Lulu-Briggs moves out of the Transitions home into the hands of Dumo and kinsmen, ostensibly on its way to Nigeria for burial and funeral rites, two aspects of the case remain outstanding – the appeal against the orders of the High Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei-Baffour, and the challenge to the validity of the coroner’s inquest by the Kaneshie District Court 2.