The Ikoyi Marriage Registry has been thrust into a fresh corruption scandal following allegations of certificate forgery, as multiple women lay claim to the estate of a deceased Nigerian businessman, Mr. Monday Akpoviroro Ovuede.
At the heart of the controversy is an intricate network of officials allegedly involved in racketeering, enabling fraudulent procurement of marriage certificates to manipulate legal inheritance processes.
The case, which highlights systemic corruption within the registry and the Citizenship Office under the Ministry of Interior, came to light after Mrs. Jennifer Ovuede, the widow of the late businessman, petitioned the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
Her lawyer, Patrick Agun, detailed the activities of a criminal syndicate allegedly issuing counterfeit marriage certificates for financial gain.
The scandal escalated when three women — Mrs. Jennifer Ovuede, Mrs. Henrietta Ekene Ovuede, and Mrs. Angela Afegua Ovuede — laid competing claims to being the legal wife of Mr. Ovuede, who passed away in June 2023.
Court documents revealed that Mrs. Henrietta Ekene Ovuede presented a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a marriage certificate dated October 7, 2006, to secure a favorable judgment at the Lagos High Court (Suit No. LD/6460FPM/2023) presided over by Justice Balogun.
The ruling affirmed her entitlement to the Letters of Administration for the late businessman’s estate, sidelining other claimants.
However, Mrs. Jennifer Ovuede, challenging the judgment, uncovered glaring irregularities in the marriage certificate.
In a motion filed before Justice Basua (Suit No. LD/7674EPM/2024), her counsel alleged that the certificate was a forgery — infamously referred to as an “Oluwole Marriage Certificate.”
Documents sighted revealed that the disputed certificate lacked mandatory elements prescribed by the Marriage Act, including signatures of the parties, names or signatures of witnesses, and the registrar’s valid signature. Instead, the document contained only typed names, with “S.B. Kasali” appearing as the registrar’s name.
Patrick Agun, representing Mrs. Jennifer Ovuede, further stated that Mrs. Henrietta Ekene Ovuede approached the Ikoyi Registry for a CTC without presenting the original document — a legal requirement under Nigerian law. Shockingly, the CTC was issued on June 21, 2023, while the late Mr. Ovuede was reportedly still hospitalized in London, three weeks before his death.
The forgery allegations took a sinister turn when the case file at the Ikoyi Marriage Registry reportedly “disappeared” for two days, delaying a certified copy application by Jennifer Ovuede’s counsel.
Sources within the registry claimed that senior officials attempted to replace the forged certificate with a newly fabricated version to counter mounting scrutiny.
A source privy to the case stated, “The forged certificate was issued with the support of compromised officials at the Citizenship Office in Abuja under the Ministry of Interior. A certain Deputy Director is at the center of efforts to produce a replacement document.”
Efforts to challenge the validity of the marriage certificate were further complicated after Mrs. Henrietta Ekene Ovuede’s counsel failed to file a response to the motion challenging the document’s authenticity.
Sources at the Probate Registry confirmed that the response, due within five days, remained unfiled, allegedly due to ongoing efforts to produce the replacement certificate.
Source : Sahara Reporters
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