There is a big fight in the family of late Babashola Rhodes (SAN) over who controls one of the companies left behind by the foremost Nigerian lawyer. His family is presently torn apart over the matter. His sister, Mrs Clara Oye Otoki, and the deceased’s two daughters; Mrs Biola Babalola and Miss Mojisola Rhodes are presently at loggerheads in court to settle scores.
While Mrs Otoki has alleged that her late brother removed the names of his two daughters as Directors of Nojovo Farms and Fisheries Company Limited at Oko-Ado, in Eti-Osa local government area of Lagos State, the daughters claimed that their aunt is lying.
Below is the full story as reported by Enconium Magazine.
NINE years after the death of Chief Babashola Rhodes (SAN), a prominent lawyer and former chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), his sister, Mrs Clara Oye Otoki and his daughters, Mrs Biola Babalola and Miss Mojisola Rhodes are at each other throat over his prime landed property Nojovo Farms and Fisheries Company Limited at Oko-Ado, in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The sister, Mrs Clara Oye Otoki in a statement of claims deposed to at Federal High Court, Lagos, on July 23, 2012 said, amongst other things, that the deceased’s two daughters, Mrs Biola Babalola and Miss Mojisola Rhodes, should stop parading themselves as directors of Novojo Farms and Fisheries Company Ltd, because their father, before his death, in conjunction with her and other directors of the company have removed them as directors.
According to her, sometime in the mid/late 90s, the late Chief Babashola Rhodes had serious misunderstanding with his two daughters (Mrs Biola Babalola and Miss Mojisola Rhodes), and insisted that they should be stripped of his personal interest.”
She went on, “sometimes in 2000, the defendants (the two daughters) deserted their father. Upon insistence of the late Chief Babashola Rhodes, it was agreed that the names of Miss Biola Rhodes (Mrs Biola Babalola) and Miss Mojisola Rhodes be removed as directors and same to be replaced with Dr Bolaji Bamgboye owing to his experience.
Mrs Oye-Otoki said shortly after the decision to remove the two daughters was taken by the board of directors, her brother fell seriously sick. That it was the challenges which her brother faced which eventually led to his death that did not allow him and other directors of the company to effect the changes on the board of directors and shareholding.
She, therefore, prayed the court to give an order mandating her (the sister), to notify forthwith the documentation of the company with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, of the new changes. She also prayed the court to give an order mandating Chief Rhodes’ daughters to return forthwith all documents of the company in their possession.
Not only that, she wants the court to stop the two daughters or their agents from further hounding, threatening and using state security apparatus against her.
The two daughters who are also defendants in the suit denied virtually all the allegations leveled against them by their aunt (Mrs Clara Oye Otoki).
In their statement of defence, they argued that their aunt was not a co-founder of the company as she claimed. According to them, “the sole promoter of the company was their father, Chief Babashola Rhodes and that their aunt was only invited to the company as a nominal director out of their father’s goodwill.
They went further to say that the other person, who is a shareholder in the company is one Mrs Olatowun Candide-Johnson (nee Martins), who on June 22, 2012, transferred her one share in the company to Mrs Abiola Babalola (nee Rhodes).
They further averred that their aunt, Mrs Clara Oye Otoki scared them away after their father’s death and secretly tried to assert control over their father’s estate including the disputed company. They said she never made any attempt to contact them as her intention was to keep them away from their father’s properties and convert them to herself.
They contended that their aunt should stop parading herself as the managing director of the company because, according to them before their father’s demise, no meeting of the board of directors or shareholders of the company was held to appoint any of the directors as managing director or to remove any existing director of the company.
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