Dr Ajayi died on April, 26, 2020 at the St Nicholas hospital, following a battle with kidney disease. His relations, friends and associates are however saddened that despite all that he became while alive, Dr Ajayi is suffering in death from the hands of the family he left behind.
Though he died during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country was on lockdown, his extended family, friends and associates wanted to see him get a befitting burial, while complying with the pandemic safety rules. Meanwhile, those who have an hindsight of what was coming had predicted a battle in the house of the late accomplished medical expert and businessman.
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| Late Dr. Ajayi and his widow, Helen. |
True to their predictions, events that played out after his children were informed of his death has led to the continued stay of Dr. Ajayi’s corpse in the morgue.
It was gathered that shortly after the Ajayi children were told their father had died, they decided to petition the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, alleging that their father’s wife, Helen, killed him. She was invited to Panti Police station, made to write a statement, after which the Police decided to conduct further investigation on the matter, and requested that an autopsy be conducted on the deceased. Reports said the result revealed that he died of natural cause, as no foul play was found.
While the autopsy was done, the children got another death certificate issued to them, with the address of the deceased captured as the residential address of his first wife, contradicting the Ikoyi, Lagos home address where he lived and shared with ex-beauty queen, Helen Prest, and which they had earlier admitted to, as his residence in their petition.
Meanwhile, his widow, Helen, had already been issued a death certificate when Dr Ajayi’s body was deposited at the morgue. She had given the coroner, an under-letter, through her lawyer, that should another death certificate be issued after the autopsy, it must be handed over to her, being the one responsible for putting him in the TOS funeral home at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
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| Mrs Helen Prest-Ajayi. |
The address error on the new death certificate was pointed out by Helen’s lawyer, who asked the court to instruct that the records be rectified.
In the midst of all this, Dr Ajayi’s, first wife, Yemisi,who is Senator Mamora’s sister, went ahead to sue the morgue owners, TOS Funeral Home, to a Lagos High Court, demanding the release of his corpse to her and her children for burial. On finding out, Helen’s lawyer, it was gathered, joined her to the suit.
All of these events have led to the delay of the burial of Dr Ajayi's corpse, which hasn’t gone down well with friends and colleagues of the late renowned doctor. Since then, contradictory stories have been peddled around as to who is actually wrong between the two camps fighting over the body.
While some said Helen is the one stalling the burial, some people who are close to the family are alleging that the children’s refusal to agree on the dates picked has become the main issue.
Reports also revealed that prominent people in Lagos, who are friends of Dr Ajayi have called several meetings between Dr Ajayi’s children and Helen, but they have not yielded results.
It was gathered that the real reason the Ajayi children have continued to refuse to concede to the pleas being made to them to have their father buried is said to be because they are angry Helen refused to bow to their demands. Sources close to the family alleged that the older Ajayi children are demanding that Helen hand over their father’s corpse to them to bury and she would not be allowed to participate in the burial ceremony. They also demand that she hands over the original death certificate and morgue pass to them, a request she refused to heed, since they were planning to exclude her from the burial.
The children are also insisting that his burial service will be held at their mother’s church, SherperdHill Baptist Church, Lagos, while the deceased was said have requested that he would want his burial service conducted by the pastor of one of the popular RCCG parishes located on Victoria Island, Lagos where he worshipped before he died. The request to use ShepherdHill Baptist Church was refused by Helen, as her late husband didnt attend the church. He was even sais to have refused to attend the weddings of two of his daugthers that held at the SherperdHill Baptist Church, for reasons best known to him.
Meanwhile, those close to the Ajayi family are wondering why Dr Ajayi’s first wife, Yemisi, and her children have chosen to walk this path to settle scores, especially since Yemisi and Dr Ajayi had parted ways 35years ago, 10years before he even met Helen, with whom he had a daugther and they were together for 25 years until his death.
The turn of events in the Ajayi homefront has saddened many of the deceased friends and associates,who have had to watch how things degenerated, resulting in the denial of his body from a final rest.
-additional information from GlamAndEssence.com