Stranded in el Dorado…Late Lulu Briggs Widow, Seinye, Duel with Stepsons Over His Estate

* Why they are after her

 If desire is prosperity’s manure, greed is its nemesis. But where the supposedly prosperous lusts for unearned riches, they become stranded in the hungerland of fortune. Nothing defines human beings better than than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. A cursory look at the Briggs family may enlighten you.

As you read, Seinye Briggs, the widow of late Lulu Briggs, is running helterskelter, seeking a safe haven from the plots of her stepsons. The latter are allegedly after her life, according to her.

When the sad news of Lulu-Briggs’ passing in Accra, Ghana, filtered through at the end of 2018, many, especially in Rivers State, looked forward to attending what was expected to be a befitting burial for the distinguished elder Kalabari statesman, who was renowned for his legendary philanthropy and business acumen. Indeed, preparations were well underway in Abonnema earlier this year.

 However, disquiet in his immediate family, first filtered into the social space in the form of a short story in one of the national dailies mid-January 2019; what followed is a sordid narrative of full blown hostilities between the late High Chief, Briggs’ widow and his sons. The latter, occupying two opposing camps, are pitted in a bitter battle over the estate of the deceased.

 On the one hand are Briggs’ elder sons Senibo, Dumo and Sofiri. Led by Dumo, who is Chairman of Platform Petroleum, they appear to have the backing of some of their compound chiefs in Abonnema. On the other side is the deceased’s widow, Seinye, with their four other children. It would be recalled that Seinye had been by his side for the last two decades, until his demise.

 According to her: “Well it is now clear to me that the animosity I am facing at the hands of Dumo and his siblings is related to the attempts they made to take control of Moni Pulo Limited from their father by charging him like a criminal to courts in Abuja, Lagos, Houston and London in the early 2000s. Though I was not a party to the proceedings, I bore the brunt of a lot of their accusations against their father.

 “As expected my late husband prevailed at the courts and in order to buy himself peace of my mind and settle the matter once and for all he entered into two settlements through which he symbolically bought the ‘purported shares’ of his three eldest sons- Senibo, Dumo and Sofiri- from them. Part of the agreement is that they would hands off the company in perpetuity. But now that he is dead, and not minding about their father’s other children, they have renewed their plot to seize their father’s assets and I am obviously standing in their way, so they are trying to push me aside.

 “I am confident, however, that they will equally fail in this as they failed in previous efforts because the God I serve is a just God. Those who were close to my husband know this sad history and how much it broke his heart. However, he refused to disown his children as many of his friends advised him to do. In fact, he considered the settlement he made to them the payment of their inheritance from him. I loved my husband and we cared for one another. I am my husband’s next of kin and I will not allow anyone to disrespect the wishes he has made in his Will which will be read at God’s appointed time.”