Facts:

The claimants are children of the late Alex Ibru who died in November, 2011. The 1st defendant is the wife of the late Alex Ibru who lived with the deceased until his death and had many children for him. The 2nd defendant is an incorporated trustee founded by the deceased for charity purposes while the 3rd defendant is limited liability company founded by the deceased and managed by some of the deceased children.

Upon the demise of the deceased, the 1st defendant applied to the 4th defendant for the grant of probate to execute the last Will of the deceased. The late Alex Ibru, appointed the 1st defendant and her children as executors of his Will. The said Will is dated the 8th day of September, 2011. The 1st defendant and the other named executors applied in common form and the court granted probate on the 3rd of June, 2013.

After becoming aware of the grant of probate, the claimants filed a suit at the High Court of Lagos State against the defendants challenging the validity of the Will. The claimants sought declarations that the last Will of their father is the one dated the 6th day of July, 1992 and that the one dated the 8th day of September, 2011 and relied upon by the 1st defendant and the other executors, is invalid. The basis for their contention is that the signature of their father on the said Will is irregular or alternatively, the deceased had no knowledge of the contents of the Will or that it was made and executed under undue influence of the 1st defendant who was the sole caregiver of the deceased throughout the period he was sick without allowing the claimants access to their father during the period. The claimants sought orders of the court to admit the Will dated the 6th day of July, 1992 to probate and setting aside the purported common form probate granted in favour of the 1st defendant and the other executors on the 3rd day of June 2013. Furthermore, the claimants also sought a declaration that the property situate at No 17 Alexander Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos is part of their father’s estate but only held in trust by the 3rd defendant.

Furthermore, the claimants clamed in the alternative that, if the court finds the Will dated the 8th day of September, 2011 to be valid and operative, certain declarations be made concerning it. Declarations that certain clauses of the Will are invalid and that their father died intestate as to the assets not listed, mentioned or properly disposed of in the Will. Furthermore, the claimants sought orders of the court to make reasonable provisions for them in the residual estate of their late father, covering several assets and real properties scattered across the world not covered in the Will. They also sought injunctions against the defendants from dealing with or administering the properties of their late father and order directing them to render account for the management of their late father’s properties.

The defendants filed their defence and the matter went to trial. At the end of proceedings, the court held that the Will dated the 8th day of September, 2011 is valid being the last Will of the late Alex Ibru which revoked the earlier Wills and that the deceased did not die intestate and that the executors must trace and identify all the assets of the deceased at home and abroad and carry out the wishes of the testator in accordance with the Will. Furthermore, the court set aside the common form granted in favour of the defendants on the 3rd day of June, 2013 and also set aside the grant of probate on that date and ordered the executors to render account of the management of the late Alex Ibru’s estate since his demise.