- The estate was placed under the Lagos Administrator-General control, six years after Akindele’s 2020 death.
- His first son is challenging the will’s validity, alleging execution defects; 16 defendants, including widows and Tiffany Amber’s Folake Folarin-Coker, dispute the claims.
- Trial began July 2026; next hearings September 28 and October 7–8.
The Lagos State High Court has removed the estate of late industrialist Bode Oladimeji Akindele from private hands, placing it under the control of the state’s Administrator-General six years after his death.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that Justice Tanimola Ajorin-Ajose ordered the interim takeover pending the hearing and final determination of a substantive suit challenging the validity of the document meant to govern the estate.
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The judge directed the Administrator-General to operate under the immediate control and direction of the court and to file quarterly reports on the administration of the assets.
The order followed the dismissal of a defence application seeking to strike out the case entirely. Letters of Administration have since been issued and served on the relevant parties, and official notices identifying properties now under the Administrator-General’s control are expected to go up in line with the court’s directive.
How we got here
The case, Suit No. LD/10/2020, was filed by Oladipo Alade Akindele, who describes himself as the seventh biological child and first son of the deceased. He is asking the court to declare the entire will invalid, arguing it failed to comply with the applicable Wills Law.
His challenge rests on alleged defects in the will’s execution, questions over an alteration to its execution date, and the absence of a Family Protocol the will is said to have relied on. He is represented by Pistis Partners LLP, led by Dr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN.
Sixteen defendants were joined to the suit, among them the deceased’s widows, children, relatives and long-standing associates, fashion designer Folake Folarin-Coker of Tiffany Amber, and officials of the Lagos State High Court Probate Registry, including the Registrar. Also named are Rev. Michael Stephen, Prof. Oluwatoyin Isemede, Mrs. Abiola Aderibige, Mrs. Abiodun Duduyemi, Mrs. Ajoke Braithwaite, Mrs. Oluyemisi Oladapo, Mrs. Titilola Madedor, Mrs. Afolake Coker, Miss Ayodele Akindele, Mr. Mobolaji Akindele, Mrs. Mojisola Shonibare, Mrs. Roseline Akindele and Miss Samantha Stevenson.
The defendants reject the claimant’s allegations, insisting the governing document is the “Sir (Chief) Olabode Oladimeji Akindele Family Constitution,” executed between October and November 2018, and deny any attempt to exclude him. None of the allegations has been finally determined by the court.
The dispute is not new. Status Quo Orders preserving the estate were first granted as far back as February 18, 2021, while the parties fought over the will’s legitimacy. Trial proper only began on July 3, 2026, and has since been adjourned to September 28, October 7 and October 8.
Who was Bode Akindele
Akindele died on June 29, 2020, at his residence in Apapa, Lagos, at the age of 88. Born in Ibadan to a senior tax official and a prominent trader, he went on to hold the traditional title of Parakoyi of Ibadanland and built one of Nigeria’s larger indigenous business empires without a university education.
His conglomerate, Modandola Group, named after his mother, spanned maritime services, fishing, manufacturing, real estate, finance and flour milling. Its Nigerian subsidiaries included Standard Breweries and Diamond Foods, both in Ibadan, and Standard Flour Mills in Lagos. Beyond Nigeria, the London-based Fairgate Group held a British property portfolio whose tenants included major retailers Sainsbury’s and Asda, run through entities such as Fairgate Group Limited, Fairgate Estates Limited and Fairgate Investments Limited.
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A 2013 survey by Ventures Africa put his fortune at $1.19 billion. No current valuation of his estate has been published, and the scale of what remains is now among the questions the courts, and the Administrator-General’s quarterly reports, will have to help settle.
Philip Ibitoye is a Special Correspondent with EKO HOT BLOG. Click here to find daily analysis and critical insight on trending issues in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
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