LAGOS, NIGERIA — Abdulmumuni Abiola, the son of late Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Moshood Abiola (MKO Abiola), has made significant revelations regarding his father’s estate and the ongoing family disputes surrounding it.
During an appearance on the “Mic On Podcast,” hosted by Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV, Abdulmumuni discussed his frustrations over his inability to claim his rightful inheritance and accused his older brother, Kola Abiola, of obstructing access to the funds left by their father.
MKO Abiola, who died in 1998, was a prominent entrepreneur and politician, having won Nigeria’s 1993 presidential election, which was annulled by the military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
In his will, Abiola bequeathed £650,000 to his first four wives, a document shown during the podcast revealed.
His first wife, Simbiat, was allocated £300,000; his second wife, Kudirat, was given £150,000; while Moriamo and Idiat were each designated £100,000.
Abdulmumuni, whose mother Kudirat Abiola was the second wife, expressed his grievances regarding Kola’s handling of the inheritance.
He claimed that Kola had been preventing him and his sisters from accessing the funds left to them.
“We had a list of qualifying children based on blood tests. The will is quite systematic, naming the wives and specifying their shares. My mother, being the second wife, was designated £150,000,” Abdulmumuni stated.
He noted that Kola had cited British inheritance laws as a reason for withholding the funds, arguing that because Kudirat passed away before MKO, her children were not entitled to her share.
“Kola cited that my mum died before my dad, claiming that British law prevented him from releasing the funds to us. Ironically, he also mentioned that his mother is deceased, yet he hasn’t received the £300,000 portion allocated to her,” Abdulmumuni said, expressing his frustration over what he described as a double standard in Kola’s interpretation of the will.
He went on to recount the financial struggles his family faced after their parents’ deaths, highlighting the difficulties they experienced living in the United Kingdom.
“That money could have been incredibly helpful to us,” Abdulmumuni said, adding that Kola sold his mother’s apartment in the UK without informing the family.
Reflecting on the hardships he and his siblings endured, Abdulmumuni described how one of his sisters had to braid hair to support the family, while another gave speeches at various universities in the United States to earn money.
“We couldn’t afford proper shoes for school, forcing my sister to take me to Payless,” he recalled.
MKO Abiola was posthumously honoured in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who officially recognized June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day in memory of Abiola’s contributions to the country’s democratic process.
The revelations made by Abdulmumuni during the podcast have shed light on the internal family tensions surrounding MKO Abiola’s legacy and the ongoing struggle for access to the wealth left behind by the late business mogul.
