The burial of late High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs may have come and gone. But prior to the 13th of March, 2021 burial period, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs had called on all and sundry to suspend any media reactionary conduct that may derail his focus in giving his beloved father a befitting burial, that he so deserved. This came at a time when his stepmother Dr. (MRS.) Seinye Lulu-Briggs had gone to former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and complained about how Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs had sidelined her from being involved in the burial plans of her late husband contrary to the wishes of her husband and the ruling of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
Swiftly Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs raced down to Yenagoa Bayelsa State capital a week to his father’s burial and responded to all the allegations levelled against him by his stepmother, Seinye, showing the former First Lady and her husband former, President Jonathan every evidence of getting his stepmother involved as required by Kalabari customs and tradition. As chief mourner, as was observed, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs majestically carried out his responsibilities in coordinating all the burial obsequies which attracted several world leaders and business associates of his late father.
Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, two years after the death of his father celebrated a posthumous 90th birthday that brought honour to the departed irrespective of the ongoing legal tussle between the 3 biological sons Senibo, Dumo and Sofiri against their stepmother Dr. (Mrs.) Seinye Lulu-Briggs.
Being further disturbed with the level of media fireworks his stepmother engaged in as allegedly published in both electronic and print media, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs kept off from any media publicity not connected with the smooth running of the burial plans as he told those who wanted to hear him that there’s no family disharmony or feud concerning his father’s burial. City People Port Harcourt Bureau Chief, EMEKA AMAEFULA (+2348111813069) in this report, reflect on major social media responses made by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs as a counter to those allegations put against him by Dr. (Mrs.) Seinye Lulu-Briggs. READ ON
“I know how difficult it is to be silent in the face of the sustained attacks, lies, innuendos, malicious falsehood, etc., but you know what? There is only one truth and it shall prevail. Yes, the issues as to where and how our father died and associated matters have been raised and they are right before Nigeria and Ghana police and also before the courts in both Nigeria and Ghana (Court Judgments ruled).
The peace that comes from the truth and justice is all we seek and it shall prevail.
God keep us.” Chief, Dumo Lulu-Briggs (Chief Mourner).
In subsequent reactions to his stepmother’s media attacks, he wrote, “All we demand is the truth. Meanwhile, there is no autopsy report yet. NONE WHATSOEVER. So, where my father’s wife got her report of no violent death must be that she knows what even the Nigeria Police, Ghana Police and Interpol do not know yet. That in itself should be the subject of an investigation. Even the notorious interloper, Dr Lawrence Adusie has not tried to voice a comment since after the abracadabra. If my late father’s wife has knowledge of any autopsy report as I write, it must be one she authored because I have not seen any report. And by the way, that death was unnatural does not necessarily mean it was violent. Isn’t someone trying, as usual, to be smart here? All the parties agreed and it formed part of a High Court of Ghana Consent Order that seven months after the death was hidden from the police in Ghana and the mortal remains of my father was deposited in a morgue in Accra, only laboratory tests run from tissue samples taken from the body could reveal a conclusive outcome. As such, samples must be given to the police in Nigeria and Ghana investigating the matter and also to the parties in the matter. Unfortunately, an interloper took over the entire exercise, sent out both the Ghana and Nigeria police pathologists, thereby precluding them from even observing the autopsy in an investigation by the police, and refuses to take samples for the police nor give samples to the parties yet someone is pretending to be jubilating.
Now cause of death is one issue, place and time of death is another. Did our father die in Accra or he died in Nigeria? If he died in Nigeria, who kidnapped the corpse to Ghana? If, as my father’s wife now claims, that as they arrived in Accra aboard the charter aircraft, they suddenly discovered that our father was completely motionless, did she alert the police? How was she able to get an ambulance to take the dead body out of the Accra airport without a record to the police, immigration or airport authorities in Accra, Ghana? Did she breach the security in Ghana and Nigeria?
These are some of the issues. Calling Chief Dumo O.B.Lulu-Briggs a bad name is just a distraction that can never hide or trump the issues. They can continue to be smart but the 99 days for the thief are running out, the one day for the owner is just around the corner. The owner here is the law and it has a long arm.
In the over 5 hours she kept him at the PH International airport, inside an aircraft with the charter aircraft doors locked so that no one could go in or come out, what were they doing inside? He had a tracheostomy tube inserted in his throat, he was 88years old, yet his wife had no pity on him, she had him holed up in an aircraft that was completely motionless, going nowhere for upwards of five hours yet claims to be surprised that our father too was completely motionless as they arrived Accra? What kind of inhuman treatment to a man that was kindness personified? In all of those hours, more than 6hours just to fly from Port Harcourt to Accra that is just an hour, no one attended to him, as they claimed he was sleeping all of that time. He made no sound. Of course, only the living makes sounds. So, was he alive or already dead? The Law has a long arm. I won’t stop asking questions because in addition to being a great Nigerian, he was my beloved father. You would do the same if you had on my shoes. I was asking the questions quietly and privately but those who have murdered sleep and could therefore not find sleep thought it was best to malign me publicly. Now the public has an opportunity to hear the other side. The peace that cometh from justice SHALL PREVAIL.
You will soon read our full account and the fallacies contained in every statement made by Seinye Peterba Lulu-Briggs since the death of our father. Even the Ghana Police is shocked at how she breached their security and took the corpse of our father whom she now, contrary to her initial statements that when they arrived Accra, my father asked them what the time was and they told him, after which they all came out of the chartered aircraft, the captain even came down, shook hands with everyone including my father and bade them goodbye, but now in an action which she instituted in the High Court in Ghana, asking the court to give her custody of the mortal remains of our late father and not anybody else, she stated that when they arrived Accra on board the chartered aircraft they realized that the deceased, our father, High(Chief) Dr. O. B. Lulu-Briggs was still and completely motionless. The Ghana police force is shocked at how they got the deceased out of the Accra airport to deposit in a funeral place inside Accra without reporting the matter to the police and there are no records of such incident either with immigrations, airport authorities, or the police. On that score, the Ghana police ordered an inquest as the case was one that qualifies for an inquest and an autopsy automatically under Ghanaian laws.
The Police obtained an order from the Coroner’s court to conduct an autopsy last Friday, 12th of July, 2019 but Seinye went to court to file a motion for an injunction that the body should not be released to anybody and the Transitions Home, where she deposited our father’s mortal remains would not, based on the filed motion, release the body even to the police. Following all that bizarre drama by a widow who should want the truth established, the Ghana police met with all the parties on Monday, 15th of July where the police stated in clear terms and agreed by all the parties, ourselves and our lawyers, Seinye and her lawyers that the autopsy would be done and tissue samples would be taken for the police and ourselves and Seinye; that the autopsy shall be conducted at the Military hospital by Col (Dr.) Attoh.
Curiously, one Dr. Lawrence Edusie of the Korle-Bu hospital, an entirely different hospital and a pathologist who is unknown even to the police as far as the inquest/autopsy of High Chief O.B. Lulu-Briggs is concerned, gets involved and actually performs the autopsy, in the course of which he sends out and prevents the Nigeria police pathologist AIG Akhiwu and the Ghana police pathologist from even observing the autopsy when the autopsy is as a result of an inquest, a serious police investigation involving the Nigeria Police, Ghana Police and the Interpol. To make matters worse, despite repeated demands for tissue samples by my pathologist Dr Francis Faduyile, no samples were given to the parties for toxicology and Histology tests.
The Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal investigations, a woman and I hear the first woman in Ghana history to be appointed to head such a highly sensitive police command was herself very furious how her painstaking effort was thwarted by some people and an uninvited, unwelcome pathologist. In response to calls by my lawyers, she gave them the comfort that the police would have nothing to do with that autopsy as it ran afoul of all Ghana police instructions and even a consent order of the High Court in Ghana for samples to be given to the parties. That is comforting and may God continue to bless and reward every police officer who works to strengthen the hand of justice even as we shall appeal for an investigation into what happened and demand an unquestionable autopsy.
Seinye is yet to explain to the family and I wonder what statement she made to the police on how she kept, on the 27th of December, 2018, her husband whom she claimed to have loved inside of a chartered aircraft together with herself and allies for more than 5hours at the PH International airport, with the aircraft doors shut, none going in or coming out? She claims the aircraft didn’t have a landing permit to land in Accra??????. Really? So, what was Vista charter services doing, carrying passengers into their aircraft and keeping them locked in for more than five hours if they didn’t have a landing permit to take them? Our father who was 88years old at the time, with a tracheostomy tube inserted would be kept in an aircraft with artificial air for upwards of six hours including the eventual flying time of about an hour to Accra from PH with no suction in all that time only to later state that as they arrived Accra, they realized our father was immobile.
Well, by the grace of God, all of us shall be led by myself, the chief mourner, give a very befitting burial to our father and husband even as police investigations continue. Seinye is on police bail at the moment and she is always very welcome to perform her roles as the wife under Kalabari native law and custom. No one can deny her that. God keeps us.
– Emeka AMAEFULA
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