Veteran singer Uche Ibeto, siblings, in property dispute over late mum’s Surulere home

Veteran Nigerian singer Uche Ibeto and her siblings are locked in a property dispute over their late mother Esther Ibeto’s one-storey building in Surulere, Lagos.

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Ms Ibeto, popular as the “Jigida Queen,” is a septuagenarian highlife and traditional music star famed for the 1988 classic ‘Egwi Jigida’ and decades of live performances across Nigeria’s cultural circuit.

The dispute stems from Ms Ibeto’s accusation that her elder sister, Laura Okoh, working with a judicial officer, conspired to eject her from the house where she had lived for more than 50 years with their mother until the matriarch died in 2013.

Her family has denied the allegation, describing it as false and misleading.

After this denial, Kenneth Joshua, one of the estate’s legal representatives, spoke exclusively with PREMIUM TIMES, saying there is “no issue with the case.”

He explained that about a week ago, all parties met at the office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos, where the matter was resolved.

“She is not disputing that her mother is the owner of the property. She was actually there at the mercy of the administrators of the estate. There are three sisters, and she is the youngest of them. Traditionally, she has no say in how the property in question is handled,” Mr Joshua said.

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He added that the Lagos State High Court issued an eviction order on 10 August, executed on 15 August, and alleged that Ms Ibeto had collected rent from the house for years for personal use while resisting repeated appeals to vacate.

Backstory

Sahara Reporters reported that through her lawyer, Onwubualili Sylvester, Ms Ibeto petitioned the Chief Judge of Lagos State and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, alleging that the 10 July court judgment transferring ownership of the one-storey building to a buyer, Cecil Ezem Osakwe, was secured through forgery and false depositions.

According to the report, a judgment delivered on 10 July transferred possession and ownership of the building to one Cecil Ezem Osakwe, who claimed to have purchased it from the estate administrators led by Mrs. Okoh.

The report further states that Ibeto’s lawyer insists the judgment was secured through “fraudulent means, impersonation, and false depositions,” alleging that Osakwe relied on fake documents, including an undated Contract of Sale Agreement and a Deed of Assignment.