The legal dispute over the estate of late former Access Bank Group Managing Director and CEO Herbert Wigwe has escalated to the Court of Appeal after the Lagos State High Court dismissed an application for interim reliefs.
Herbert Wigwe’s 90-year-old father, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe, is at the center of a case concerning the guardianship of his grandchildren and the management of properties tied to the late banking executive.
On February 6, 2025, Justice A.O. Adeyemi of the Lagos State High Court (Family/Probate Court) in Ikeja dismissed an application by Christian Wigwe and Pastor Shyngle Wigwe. They sought the appointment of interim administrators for the estate, according to ThisDay.
The claimants, allegedly under the direction of Emeka Wigwe, filed suit ID/7735FPM/2024 against Access Bank Plc, Coronation Merchant Bank Ltd, and United Securities Ltd. Additional defendants named in the case included Uche Wigwe, Aigboje A.I.G. Imoukhuede, and Otutochi Channel Wigwe—Herbert Wigwe’s daughter and Pastor Wigwe’s granddaughter.
The applicants sought an order to appoint Otutochi Wigwe, Uche Wigwe, Shyngle Wigwe, and two professional entities—Zedra Trust Company (Isle of Man) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers Limited—as interim administrators of the estate. They also requested joint guardianship of Herbert Wigwe’s minor children, with Shyngle Wigwe overseeing their welfare.
Additionally, they sought court authorization for the interim administrators to manage the children’s welfare, liaise with third parties over financial interests, submit monthly reports to the court, and obtain financial disclosures from financial institutions.
Justice Adeyemi rejected the application, ruling that the requested reliefs mirrored those in the substantive suit and were therefore unsustainable.
Following the dismissal, Pastor Shyngle Wigwe and his co-appellants filed a notice of appeal dated February 13, 2025, BusinessDay reports. They argued that the court failed to differentiate between interim reliefs—intended to preserve the estate—and final reliefs regarding the distribution of assets.
They cited Section 24 of the Lagos State Administration of Estate Law (2015), which allows courts to appoint interim administrators when necessary. The appellants also challenged a prior ex parte guardianship order that excluded the children’s grandparents without notice.
The appeal also addressed the court’s denial of a Norwich Pharmacal order, which would have compelled financial institutions to disclose Herbert Wigwe’s financial holdings. They claimed some assets were unaccounted for and lacked transparency during the ongoing probate process.
Herbert Wigwe, 57, died tragically on February 9, 2024, in a Eurocopter EC130 crash near Nipton, California. The crash also claimed the lives of his wife, Doreen Chizoba Wigwe, their 29-year-old son Chizi Wigwe, former Nigerian Exchange Group Plc Chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo, and two crew members.
