Court Rejects Fmr. Beauty Queen’s Claim, Says Adenike Ajayi Sole Lawful Widow Of First Foundation Hospital Founder

By Akinwale Kasali

In a landmark judgment, Justice Oluwayoyin Odusanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja,  has stated that separation does not end a marriage. The Court thus vindicated Adenike Oluwayemisi Ajayi as the sole and lawful widow of the late founder and Chief Executive Officer of First Foundation Hospital, Dr. Tosin Ajayi.

The verdict, delivered by Justice Odusanya finally brought to an end the protracted legal battle over the deceased’s marital status and Estate.

Before now, former Beauty Queen, Helen Prest, had claimed that she was also a spouse to the late Medical Practitioner, but the judgment has  dismissed her claim.

The Court also granted all the reliefs sought by the deceased’s wife both of whom had been separated from each other for years and her Children.

Recall that the legal battle over the ownership of the Estate of the deceased began in 2021, following Dr. Ajayi’s death on April 26, 2020, and centred on competing claims over his estate and the identity of his lawful surviving spouse.

The proceedings lasted nearly five years before the Court delivered its verdict.

The Court also held that Adenike Ajayi remained the only legally married Wife to the late Medical practitioner until his death, noting that their monogamous marriage was never dissolved.

Justice Odusanya also rejected the argument that the couple’s prolonged separation amounted to a termination of their marriage.

According to the Judge, separation, regardless of how long it lasts, does not automatically dissolve a legally valid marriage. It also agreed with the submissions of counsel to the claimants, Kunle Adegoke, SAN, that the marriage between the deceased and his legally married wife subsisted throughout the lifetime of the deceased.

Prest had raised a major issue before the Court that she had contracted a Kalabari Customary Marriage with the deceased, but the Court held that Prest failed to provide credible evidence to prove the alleged Customary Marriage.

The Court added that Prest’s claim could be described as an afterthought, observing that Prest had taken inconsistent positions in previous legal proceedings.

It also noted that in earlier suits, Prest had at different times described herself as a common-law partner and as being in a civil-law union with the deceased.

This prompted Justice Odusanya to further hold that Prest could not establish essential elements of the alleged Customary Marriage, including the date and venue of the ceremony, noting that an absence of documentary or photographic evidence to support her claim.

In addition, Justice Odusanya held that the alleged Customary Marriage would still have been invalid because evidence before the court showed that Prest was legally married to her former husband, Mr. Davies, at the time she claimed to have married Dr. Ajayi.

Consequently, the court dismissed her claim to spousal status and affirmed Adenike Ajayi as the only legally recognised spouse of the deceased.

The Judge also upheld Mrs. Ajayi’s entitlement to one-third of Dr. Ajayi’s personal estate and ruled that she is the only spouse entitled to apply for Letters of Administration over the Estate.

This puts an end to the dispute, reinforcing the legal principle that separation alone does not terminate a valid marriage unless there is a formal dissolution.