The police at Zone 2 Police Command of Nigeria Police Force, comprising Lagos and Ogun states have declared that investigation into the death of Ondo-born billionaire, Johnson Akinnawonu is still ongoing.
The wife of the deceased man, Rosemary Akinnawonu was in December 2024 arrested following a petition by children of the late Johnson Akinnawonu and was released after preliminary investigation.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Adegoke Fayoade confirmed that the police at the zone had not swept the case under the carpet.
Olayinka Sanni, counsel to the children of the deceased man, in the petition to the police, accused the estranged woman of forcefully taking over the treatment of late man by taking him to Turkey, where he died, despite an existing Power of Attorney over his health, which was assigned to only the children.
The lawyer also claimed that the children of the deceased man had earlier taken him to Canada, where he was treated for stroke, and that he returned to Nigeria in good condition.
The image maker in charge of Zone 2, CSP Ayuba Umma, while speaking with newsmen on the development over the investigation so far said ” The case is still under investigation .”
She however accused the petitioner of jettisoning the case by not showing up again, since the woman was arrested and released by policemen from Zone 2.
The police image maker also added that Rosemary was released after having secured an ex parte order, which prevents her from being arrested until the matter in court is heard.
Meanwhile, in the petition filed against Mrs. Rosemary, a former business associate of the late Pa Akinnawonu at Shell Nigeria PLC, the petitioner also alleged that she took advantage of the declining health of the deceased man to manipulate and marry him at a registry in Benin on March 15, 2024, without the knowledge or consent of his family.
The late Pa Akinnawonu, who reportedly suffered from partial dementia, had previously been married to Mrs. Ibidunni Oludayo Esan Akinnawonu in 2001 at Living Faith Worldwide Inc., a union that remains legally binding under Nigerian law.
The petition also accuses Mrs. Rosemary of coercing the deceased to sell a property in Ikeja for N250 million under the guise of paying medical bills. Out of the proceeds, she allegedly diverted N180 million into her account.
In addition, the petitioners, who are Pa Akinnawonu’s children from his previous marriages, claim that Mrs. Rosemary fabricated a divorce document in 2021 to invalidate one of his earlier marriages, enabling her to parade herself as his legal wife.
The petition further alleges that she attempted to abscond with Pa Johnson’s remains following his death under suspicious circumstances in Turkey.
The petitioners have called for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pa Akinnawonu’s death and the alleged looting of his assets.
They added that the deceased’s will, read on September 30, 2024, at the Akure State High Court, did not recognize Mrs. Rosemary as a beneficiary of his estate.
The children have urged law enforcement authorities to act swiftly, recover their father’s funds, and prosecute Mrs. Rosemary for alleged bigamy, fraud, and possible complicity in their father’s death.
However, Mrs. Rosemary, in her reaction, debunked the allegations leveled against her, claiming they were entirely false.
She maintained that she was legally married to Pa Akinnawonu from March 2024 and remained married till his death, and they lived peacefully together.
The woman stated; “We got together in January 2024. I was 55 years old, and he was 64. He had suffered a stroke since 2021 when he was with another woman who left him at the end of 2023.
“When I came into his life, he was recklessly abandoned and depressed. We have known each other over time because he has been my friend.”
Mrs. Rosemary further clarified that she did not steal from her husband but stated that he willingly transferred the money to her from the proceeds of the property he sold, which, according to her, he had purchased for her.
“I was arrested at the international airport while bringing my husband’s corpse, with allegations that I was taking his body to Edo State for rituals, but I was later released.
“I returned to the police station on the day they asked me to, but none of them showed up.”
She further added, “I married my husband when he was abandoned. All his children are living outside the country.”
The woman also insisted that she was not interested in the inheritance of the late billionaire.
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