A woman identified as Olufunmilayo has reportedly removed the corpse of her late husband, Segun, in a bid to sell a building which she claimed to her hers, leading to a tussle between her and her first son,Dapo Olofinmakin.
According to The PUNCH, Dapo, 47, had opposed the plan by his mother to move the body to another location to facilitate the sale of the building which Dapo claimed belonged to her late father.
It was alleged that the Olufunmilayo mobilised policemen from the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, to arrest him at his father’s house in order to facilitate the removal of the corpse and the sale of the house.
Dapo stated that the policemen, who arrested him and his daughter around 7.30am on October 30, 2021, detained them for 13 hours, adding that when they returned home, his father’s remains had been removed
Dapo said, “I am the only child of my mother and father; sometime between 1982 and 1995, my father was not around to manage his property because he had some challenges. During this period, my mother got married to one Alhaji Onisemo, who is now late, and she gave birth to my stepsister, Bukola.
“I was in South Africa when my father died and could not return home to bury him because of the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it was my uncle, Olu Akomolafe, who is my mother’s brother, and members of the Sanya Street Landlord Association that buried my father.
“When I returned from South Africa, my mother started claiming she owned my father’s house. While my mother, a family member and I were at loggerheads over claims to the property, on October 28, 2021, she came with policemen around 7.30 am to arrest me at my father’s house.
“They took me to the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, where I was detained till they exhumed my father’s corpse on that same day. I was later released around 8pm. As I speak to you, I don’t know where she buried my father’s corpse or what she did with the corpse. She did all these things because she wanted to sell that house and I refused.”
Some of the tenants at the home, according to Dapo, saw his mother take the body out of the grave.
The native of Ondo State encouraged the appropriate authorities to get involved in the situation, pointing out that his mother was claiming his father’s house despite having divorced and remarried years ago.
However, Olufunmilayo while reacting stated that she built the house.
“That boy is a liar. I built that house and he’s here laying claims to what is not his property; my lawyer will contact you later,” she said
Also, a member of the family, Dapo’s uncle identified as Olu said that the deceased was the owner of the property.
He said, “I am a pastor and I will not tell lies. Late Segun, my in-law, owned that house legally and it is now his son’s. My sister left (Segun) and remarried in 1982 and she had children with the other man and when my in-law died in 2020, she did not even attend his burial.
“I and members of the Sanya Street Landlord Association, Aguda, buried Dapo’s father because he was not in the country when his father died. I was surprised when I heard that my sister had gone to exhume his corpse and she is claiming the house, which is not hers.”
Also the Chairman of Sanya Street Landlord Association, Olu Francis, also said the property was built by the late Segun.
He said, “Olufunmilayo’s younger brother, Olu, who is a pastor, and members of our association, buried Segun at his house when he died. I was surprised to hear that the woman exhumed the corpse and is now claiming the house. Dapo is the only child that the man (Segun) had before he passed.”
The building’s developer, Wale Ojeyemi, claimed to have one of the house’s documents and added that it was in Dapo’s father’s name.
The Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Hauwa Idris, declined to comment when contacted for a response.
She said, “There is no police reaction to this matter until I am able to get details of the case.”
