The Zone 2 Police Command, which covers Lagos and Ogun states, has stated that the investigation into the death of Ondo state-born billionaire Johnson Akinnawon is still in progress, SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
Rosemary Akinnawonu, the wife of the deceased, was arrested in December 2024 following a petition by the late Akinnawonu’s children, but was released after a preliminary investigation.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Adegoke Fayoade, has confirmed that the police have not dismissed the case.
Barrister Yinka Sanni, representing the children of the deceased, has filed a petition with the police, accusing the estranged woman of seizing control of the late man’s treatment, taking him to Turkey where he died, despite the children having Power of Attorney over his health.
CSP Ayuba Umma, spokesperson for Zone 2, stated that the case is still under investigation. However, she noted that the petitioner has failed to follow up on the case since the woman’s arrest and release by Zone 2 police.
Meanwhile , in the petition filed against Mrs. Rosemary , a former business associate of the late Pa Akinnawonu at Shell Nigeria PLC,the petitioner alleged she took advantage of declining health of the deceased man to manipulate and marry him at a registry in Benin on March 15, 2024, without the knowledge or consent of his family.
The late Pa Akinnawonu, who reportedly suffered from partial dementia, had previously been married to Mrs. Ibidunni Oludayo Esan Akinnawonu in 2001 at Living Faith Worldwide Inc., a union that remains legally binding under Nigerian law.
The petition also accuses Mrs. Rosemary of coercing the deceased to sell a property in Ikeja for N250 million under the guise of paying medical bills.
Out of the proceeds, she allegedly diverted N180 million into her personal account.
Furthermore, the petitioners, who are the children of Pa Akinnawonu from his previous marriages, claim that Mrs. Rosemary fabricated a divorce document in 2021 to invalidate one of his earlier marriages, thereby enabling her to present herself as his lawful wife.
They also allege that she attempted to abscond with Pa Johnson’s remains following his suspicious death in Turkey. The petitioners are demanding a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pa Akinnawonu’s death and the alleged looting of his assets.
Additionally, they point out that the deceased’s will, which was read on September 30, 2024, at the Akure State High Court, does not recognize Mrs. Rosemary as a beneficiary of his estate.
The children are calling on law enforcement to quickly recover their father’s funds, prosecute Mrs. Rosemary for alleged bigamy, fraud, and possible involvement in their father’s death.
However, Mrs. Rosemary has denied the allegations, stating they are completely false and that she was legally married to Pa Akinnawonu from March 2024 until his death, and they lived together peacefully.
The woman stated that, “We got together in January 2024,” she said.
“I was 55 years old, and he was 64. He had suffered a stroke since 2021 when he was with another woman who left him at the end of 2023.
“When I came into his life, he was recklessly abandoned and depressed. We have known each other over time because he has been my friend.”
Mrs. Rosemary further clarified that she did not steal from her husband but stated that he willingly transferred the money to her from the proceeds of the property he sold, which, according to her, he had purchased for her.
“I was arrested at the international airport while bringing my husband’s corpse, with allegations that I was taking his body to Edo State for rituals, but I was later released.
“I returned to the police station on the day they asked me to, but none of them showed up.”
She further added , “I married my husband when he was abandoned. All his children are living outside the country.”
