By
Fawaz Adebisi
Dapo Olofinmakin, a businessman, 47, has accused his mother, Olufunmilayo, of unearthing his late father’s corpse, Segun, in order to sell his property on Sanya Street, Aguda area of Lagos State, where he was buried.
The businessman had reportedly refused to follow his mother’s plan to move his late father’s body to another location, to enhance the sale of the building.
According to the PUNCH Newspaper, in order to achieve her aim, Dapo said his mother mobilized policemen from the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, to arrest him at his father’s house.
According to him, the policemen who arrested him alongside his daughter sroun 7:30am on October 30, 2021, detained them for 13 hours, lamenting that his father’s body has been exhumed when they returned home
According to Dapo, he is the only child of his parents, adding that he was in South Africa ehen his father died, as he could not return home because of the COVID-19 Pandemic restrictions.
He 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.”
Dapo affirmed that some tenants in the house saw his mother removing the body from 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, according to Olufunmilayo, she built the property, as she stated that a lawyer will contact our correspondent.
“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.
However, it was reported that efforts to reach the lawyer proved abortive.
However, in contrary to what Olufunmilayo said, Dapo’s uncle, Olu, who is a pastor, affirmed that the property belongs to the deceased.
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.”
The Chairman of Sanya Street Landlord Association, Olu Francis, also reportedly 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.”
Also, the property developer, Wale Ojeyemi, reportedly affirmed that, the property was in the name of Dapo’s father, adding that he was in possession of one of the house documents.
The property developer, Wale Ojeyemi, said he was in possession of one of the house documents, adding that it was in the name of Dapo’s father.
The Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Hauwa Idris, reportedly said she has no details of the incident, as she would react once she gets the information in details.
