…As Dumo Applauds Wike’s Promise Of Befitting State Burial
…Assures Burial Would Go Unhindered
The long-awaited burial of late billionaire and paramount head of Oruwari Briggs War Canoe House of Abonnema, headquarters of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, has finally been announced.
According to a statement by the Oruwari Briggs House of Abonnema, the remains of the late business mogul, philanthropist, and industrialist will be finally laid to rest on March 13, 2021.
This comes more than two years after the demise of the man who bagged chieftaincy titles from different parts of the Niger Delta region including Igboland where he was known as ‘Ebube Dike’.
But for controversies and litigations that trailed his demise, including legal tussles in Nigerian and Ghanaian courts over where the deceased truly died and taking possession of his mortal remains, the oil and gas industry player would have long been buried.
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent restrictions by the federal and state governments as regards funerals and large gathering further elongated the final burial rites.
Addressing a press conference at Abonnema on behalf of the Oruwari Briggs House, Barrister Ibim Dokubo, stated that when on December 23, 2019, a High Court in Ghana ruled that the body of the paramount head be released to the family led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, the matter was appealed up to the Supreme Court before the body was finally brought on March 16, 2020, in the midst of Covid-19.
He said: “It is our pleasure at this point to break the news that the late High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, OON, DCF, DSSRS, the Iniikeiroari V of Kalabari Kingdom and Paramount Head of Oruwari Briggs House of Abonnema will be committed to mother Earth on Saturday, March 13, 2021.
“The major reason we could not plan the burial ceremony was because for more than fifteen months we could not take custody of the mortal remains of High Chief O.B. Lulu- Briggs because of the series of court cases that denied the family from taking custody of the body. The controversy surrounded the demise of our Paramount Head was widely reported in the media.
“Even when on December 23, 2019, a High Court in Ghana ruled that the body of the monarch be released to the family led by Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, the matter was appealed up to the Supreme Court before the body was finally brought on March 16, 2020 into the waiting arms of the prevailing Covid restrictions.
“The overwhelming view was we needed to wait for the relaxation of the Covid-19 restrictions because High Chief O.B. Lulu-Briggs was a man of many parts, who had positively touched many lives.
“He was a public servant, a labour leader, a politician, a businessman, a philanthropist par excellence and a very High Chief. It would therefore be a gross disservice to his memory to deny his legion of friends and associates the opportunity to honour him at his funeral.”
According to him, a broad-based burial committee has been set up to actualize the “mandate of giving our patriarch the honour that he very well deserves.”
Also speaking, son of the deceased, who is also the head of Young Briggs House and O.B Lulu-Briggs family, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs commended the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for his untiring efforts at resolving contentious issues and for also approving a state burial for their father.
According to him, their late father represents so many diverse interests that it is only fitting that he be given a befitting burial of his status, especially as people are expected from different parts of the world.
He said his father left Abonnema ‘with nothing’ but conquered the greater Nigeria and returned a great man.
“He was a household name and people still talk about him because of how much he impacted many lives. He built home for the elderly; hostels for students; he established endowments for medical research and built houses for people”, he said, adding that he was very happy that such a man was his father.
Dumo Lulu-Briggs, a seasoned legal practitioner and politician regretted that his late father had before his demise, concluded plans to build a sea port in Abonnema. He however assured that ‘something special’ would be done in Abonnema to immortalize the late Paramount Head of Oruwari Briggs War Canoe House.
Chief Lulu-Briggs also enjoined all who wish to participate in the burial to do so as he assured that nobody would disturb anybody.
“Our objective is to give him a befitting burial. All those wishing to participate should do so unhindered. From the beginning of the burial to the end, nobody will disturb anybody”, he declared.
