These are definitely not the best of times for former beauty queen, Helen Priest.
The woman is currently being questioned over the circumstances that led to the death of her lover, late Dr. Tosin Ajayi, founder of First Foundation Medical Limited, Lagos.
According to reports, the children of the deceased are currently taking steps to unravel the circumstances behind the death of their father.
They are also said to have also noticed that some vital documents of their father’s business empire have gone missing.
In a letter written to the Chief Judge of Lagos State, the children called for the investigations of Dr. Ajayi’s death and demanded the vital documents said to have been missing after the man’s demise as they suspected a foul play.
The late Dr. Ajayi have been an item for over 10 years.
The children claimed that Helen was never legally married to their father, and that the marriage between him and their mother was never dissolved.
A source in the family said, “The five children are all accomplished. Two of them are medical doctors, while the others are also successful and well educated in their own right. They kept in touch with their father regularly, but he became unreachable apparently when he got sick and was possibly in hospital by then.
“Weeks before his death, he was no longer answering phone calls and they got worried. Helen took him to hospital without the knowledge of any of the children. She was the first to know about his demise and never informed any of them.
“According to the children, they reliably learnt that their dad had been in hospital for about four weeks prior to his demise. They only got to know after he had passed away but not from Helen.
“We were told that after his death, Helen went to his First Foundation office in Ikeja and made away with some items.”
The children were allegedly barred from viewing his corpse, which was deposited in the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital’s private mortuary.
The family source added that; “The children tried to see their father’s corpse and made arrangements with Helen. For a whole week, it was one story after the other; so, they decided to go to the mortuary themselves. They were, however, barred from seeing the corpse.
“So, they proceeded to the Ikeja Police Division and made a complaint against Helen and the mortuary. It was only after the police intervened that they were allowed to see the corpse.”
The children are said to have vowed to take the matter up with the former beauty queen and retrieve all the documents relating to their father’s business, which they said included those relating to bank and financial transactions.
When contacted on the telephone, Prest was said have maintained that she was still mourning her husband and would not be able to speak.
Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has reportedly confirmed the steps being taking by the children of the deceased.
“It is true. We have written a letter to demand a coroner’s inquest. The children want to know the circumstances surrounding the death of their father. That is all I can say for now,” Falana said.
The late Dr Ajayi was a wealthy physician and businessman who came into prominence in October 1986 when he tried to save the late publisher of the Newswatch magazine, Dele Giwa, after a parcel bomb exploded on him.
A family friend of the Ajayis said that the deceased and his wife, Oluyemisi, a retired Chief Nursing Officer with the Lagos State Government, were legally married for over 45 years even though they were estranged as of the time of his death.
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