Oluwatoyin Alao-Aderinto demands DNA tests and estate freeze amid growing paternity row over late ex-governor Adebayo Alao-Akala’s legacy
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]lao-Akala paternity dispute has taken centre stage in a legal case now before the Oyo State High Court in Ibadan, as Oluwatoyin Alao-Aderinto, eldest daughter of the late former governor, demands the truth about who qualifies as a rightful heir.
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She is asking the court to order DNA tests on herself and six others claiming to be children of the late Adebayo Alao-Akala.
In a motion filed under number I/443/2024, her legal counsel, Oladipo Olasope, argued for a scientific process to verify paternity claims.
The request includes the exhumation of the late governor’s remains for the purpose of conducting a proper DNA test.
Alao-Aderinto has asked that the tests be done at an accredited laboratory approved by the court, with results kept sealed until they are presented in open court.
“It is only fair that the truth be scientifically established before any further division of my father’s legacy,” she stated.
This move follows rising tension over the late governor’s estate. Alao-Akala, who died in January 2022 at the age of 71 in Ogbomoso, left behind several assets across Nigeria and abroad.
These include high-value properties in Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja, as well as holdings in Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The estate reportedly contains a five-star hotel, several vehicles, and foreign bank accounts loaded with vast sums in naira, dollars, and pounds sterling.
The substantive lawsuit names two key defendants: Kemi Alao-Akala, widow of the deceased, and Olamide Alabi, another claimant described as one of the late politician’s daughters.
They are accused of obtaining a letter of administration for the estate without securing consensus from other potential heirs.
The suit seeks to nullify the document and restrain the defendants from selling or transferring any part of the estate.
In an affidavit attached to the suit, Alao-Aderinto accuses the two women of manipulating the estate administration process and sidelining other possible heirs.
She claims that critical information was concealed to gain sole control over the late politician’s wealth.
The controversy has cast a shadow over the late governor’s legacy, as the family’s internal divisions spill into public view.
With DNA testing now a central issue in the unfolding court proceedings, the truth behind the family tree could shape not just inheritance outcomes but public perception of the former governor’s private life.
Also read: ‘He was a friend’ A consummate grass root politician, OGD extols late Alao Akala
The case is still pending, and the court’s ruling on the motion for DNA testing will likely determine the course of the legal battle ahead.
Oreoluwa is an accountant and a brand writer with a flair for journalism.
