Late LBIS Founder, Biodun Laja’s Sons’ Lingering Rift

Until her passing in 2019, the late Dr Biodun Laja, founder and Chief Executive Officer, Lekki British School, Lagos, was very passionate about quality education.

At the young age of 27, she founded ABC Nursery Land. At that time, she was the first young person to have started a private school. Three years later, she expanded the school to four in different locations in Lagos.

After running the schools successfully for 25 years, she established the very first British boarding school in Lagos, named Lekki British International School (LBIS). LBIS runs from crèche to the sixth form and also caters for children with special learning needs.

However, since the death of Laja, who passed a few days to her 70th birthday, Society Watch gathered that her two children, Francis and Christian Idehen, who are shareholders and directors of the school, have been at war over the control of the schools. The smouldering war has snowballed into a major crisis, as Francis, who is a lawyer, has reportedly filed a suit against his brother before a Federal High Court in Lagos, for the court to determine how the school should be managed.

Francis alleged that after the death of their mother, Christian unilaterally made the decision to relocate himself and his family to Nigeria and immediately took over the running of the schools. He also alleged that Christian appointed himself as the de facto Chief Executive Officer without informing or conferring with him.

He further stated that their late mother had mandated him to look for international investors, who will be running the schools after her retirement. The reason, he said, was that neither he nor his brother has any requisite experience or qualifications to run an educational institution or a business the size of the schools without proper structures and process constituted.

Consequently, he requested a meeting of the schools’ Board of Directors to discuss the implementation of the appropriate legal framework to regulate the governance of and the affairs of the schools. He also advised that he and Christian apply for a letter of administration at the Lagos High Court to legally administer the estate of their late mother, particularly as it relates to her majority shares in the schools.
It was gathered that Christian failed and refused to accede to any of his brother’s requests, despite his several visits to Nigeria.

It was also alleged that Christian has continued to run the schools without regard to him and the Board of Governors.

“His wife, Olufunke is not a Director, shareholder, employee or agent of the schools. Yet, her husband continues to utilise her as an officer of the schools against my objection.

“He refused to work with his appointed Attorney, who is supposed to represent his interest, and has since been running the schools in an autocratic and dictatorial manner with his wife, who is not a director or a member of staff of the schools,” he alleged.

According to him, Christian has refused to render the account of all the expenditures made by him without his knowledge or consent, despite repeated demands to do so.

Given this, Francis is praying the court to restrain Christian from parading himself as the Chief Executive Officer of the schools and appoint the Board of Governors as interim administrators of the schools with exclusive control over the affairs of the schools, including but not limited to the schools’ bank accounts, cash and any other assets pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.

He also urged the court to vacate or set aside the order made by the court so that the activities of the schools will not be at a total halt.

Judge Nicholas Oweibo has adjourned till October 5, 2021, for the commencement of the hearing.