Lulu-Briggs died of natural causes — Court

An autopsy has revealed that High Chief, Dr Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, a billionaire and a paramount Chief in Nigeria, who died in Ghana on December 27, 2018, died of natural causes.

The autopsy, conducted at the 37 Military Hospital by Dr Lawrence Edusei, a consultant pathologist and Lt. Col. S. Attoh, the Officer-in-charge of the Pathology Division of the hospital, showed that the billionaire’s death was caused by hypertension, kidney disease, among other ailments.

“In our opinion, the cause of death is right lung infarction and severe hemorrhages in both lungs due to or as a consequence of pulmonary thromboembolism, most likely source are inferior vena cava and site of filter. Other significant conditions contributing to death are congestive cardiac arrest, hypertensive and kidney disease,” the autopsy report which was filed at the Accra High Court on December 27, last year revealed.

Death

Information from the police revealed that High Chief Lulu-Briggs, 88, died in Ghana on December 27, 2018, at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). On that fateful day, he, together with some family members had travelled on a chartered plane from Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State in Nigeria to Accra for a vacation.

According to the police, upon arrival at the KIA, the Chief Lulu-Briggs could not breathe properly and was, therefore, rushed to the Airport Clinic for treatment, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Legal wranglings

The death of the High Chief Lulu-Briggs led to bitter legal warfare between his wife, Dr Mrs Seinye Lulu-Briggs and some of his children on one side, and other children led by his eldest son, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, on the other side.

Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs and the other children suspected foul play and claimed their father did not die of natural causes. They, therefore, went to court and filed for an inquest into what led to their father’s death.

On September 6, 2019, the Kaneshie District Court granted an ex-parte application filed by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs and ordered a judiciary inquest into the death of the late High Chief Lulu-Briggs.

“An inquest should be conducted on the death of the deceased, Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, because I ordered for an autopsy to be undertaken on the deceased following an application for post-mortem by the Ghana Police Service (C.I.D. Headquarters),” the court, presided over by Mrs E.K Barnes-Botchway ruled

The magistrate further ordered the autopsy report to be made available to the court when the autopsy was conducted.

Dr Mrs Seinye Lulu-Briggs challenged the jurisdiction of the district court to order the inquest and filed an application at the Accra High Court.

Afterwards, Mrs Lulu-Briggs filed another application at the same High Court for his husband’s body to be released to her for burial

While the widow claimed that she is the rightful person by virtue of being married under the Nigerian Marriage Act, to take the body of the deceased for burial, the sons made a counterclaim based on Kalabari customs and traditions, that they are those clothed with authority to take custody of their late father’s body for burial.

The court consolidated the application and the other application which was challenging the jurisdiction of the district court to order an inquest into the death of the octogenarian into one case.

On December 23, 2019, the court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour ordered the release of the remains from the morgue to be conveyed to Nigeria for burial rites in line with the “family custom”.

The Judge took cognizance of the widow’s claim that she would be subjected to cruel, inhumane or barbaric customary practices of the Kalabari people if the body was sent to Nigeria for burial. Accordingly, the court ordered that the family of the deceased, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, provide an undertaking that they would not allow or suffer the widow to undergo any such cruel, inhumane or barbaric custom.

Justice Kyei Baffour further took over the inquest and ordered the 37 Military Hospital to file the autopsy report at the registry of the court.

“That the mortal remains of the deceased, High Chief (Dr) Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs be released by the 4th Defendant, Enterprise Funeral Services Ghana Limited and the Ghana Police Service, to the family by custom, led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, to convey same to Nigeria, for the burial and funeral rites,” the court ruled.

Justice Eric Kyei Baffour expressed the hope that his orders would bring the wrangling to an end so that the family can bury the deceased whom they all say they loved so dearly.

Supreme Court

Dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court, Dr Mrs Lulu-Briggs filed a certiorari application at the Supreme Court, challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court to order the release of the body to the sons and extended family of the late High Chief Lulu-Briggs

On February 11, 2020, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the widow’s application and held that the High Court indeed had jurisdiction to make the orders.

Who was High Chief Lulu-Briggs?

High Chief Dr Olu Benson Lulu Briggs aka Opuda the Iniikeiroari the fifth of Kalabari Kingdom and Paramount Head of Oruwari Briggs House of Abonnema was born in 1930.

He was a traditional leader, businessman, politician and philanthropist.

He was one of the founding fathers of the then ruling party, The National Party of Nigeria, NPN and served as national vice- chairman for Rivers State from 1979-1980 and later, the deputy national chairman of the party from 1980-1983.