Joyce Wigwe, the sister of the late Herbert Wigwe, talked about the causes of the court case involving contact with the children of the late brother and handling their estate.
Joyce revealed in an interview with TV360 exclusively that the family had a dispute with Wigwe’s close friend and business partner Aigboje Aig Imoukhuede, rather than with Herbert’s children.
“I don’t know where to start when Herbert died…we didn’t realize there was a disagreement,” she said.
After Wigwe’s DE@Th, there was a legal dispute over its estate management.
In November 2024, his father, pastor Shyngle Wigwe, and cousin Christian Chukwuka Wigwe filed a motion to appoint temporary administrators of the estate.
They expressed concerns about potential mismanagement and demanded supervision of Herbert’s custody of minor children. However, in February 2025, the Lagos State High Court rejected their application, ruling that the claimants lacked legal status of intervention because they were not beneficiaries of Herbert’s will.
The court upheld the provisions of appointing Herbert’s cousin Uche Wigwe and business partner Aigboje Aig-imoukhuede as trustees and personal representatives.
In addition, the court confirmed the existing custody arrangements for Herbert’s minor children, emphasizing the importance of insisting on the deceased’s record-breaking desire.
Joyce explained that their father was relieved by Herbert’s friends, who were also his “children”, which disappointed the family.
She noted that her parents have always welcomed Herbert’s friends and spouse to the family, including those of Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, a close business partner in Wigway.
“My parents are also particularly close to the Aig (Aigboje) family, especially his late mother, and may her soul rest in peace,” she said.
But tensions became apparent during Herbert’s funeral when Aigboje and his wife allegedly prevented their family from approaching the children.
“From the funeral, AIG and his wife kept flanking the kids and wouldn’t get us close to them,” Joyce recalled.
She mentioned that even attempts to adjust seating arrangements were covered by visiting bank staff under the instructions of the superior.
After the funeral, Joyce claimed that AIG held a confidential meeting with his father and, accompanied by his lawyer, banned other family members.
“They’ll come to the house and take dad into the room…My dad is like, very nice, he can handle it.”
Joyce questioned the confidential because she was a lawyer who could have been involved.
At these meetings, AIG allegedly asked Joyce’s father to sign documents related to Herbert’s property.
According to Joyce, her niece Herbert’s daughter Tochi chose to work on the estate with her grandfather.
“She said she wanted to do it with her grandfather,” Joyce said.
However, the attorney who handled the matter reportedly refused to leave a copy of the signed document to his family.
Whenever a family requests documents, Joyce accuses the attorney of providing excuses.
She said: “He refused…every time we asked, he said, ‘Oh, I’ll take it with me, oh, I’m traveling.’
Joyce expressed frustration at the lack of transparency, especially as a legal professional.
Despite the legacy issues, she confirmed that the family remained in close relationship with Herbert’s children.
“We have always had a close relationship with the children,” she said, adding that she had advised her niece to keep copies of any documents she signed.
Joyce revealed that the last conversation she had with her niece was when she reminded her to keep a copy of any paperwork.
“She said, yes, yes, I will, ‘That was my last conversation with her.”
Joyce added that her father’s fight was not with his granddaughter.
The problem, she explained, was that AIG stopped serving his father, who claimed he stopped doing so because he believed Herbert’s father was using monthly allowances to hire a lawyer to sue him. So, the family said they thought Herbert’s property had enough money to provide enough money for his parents, just as he was still alive. So they decided to file a temporary application in court to let them know about Herbert’s interest in accessing the bank, his life insurance and everything related to Herbert.
She explained how close their family was, and she said that when Herbert’s first son Chizi graduated from college, the entire Wigwe family and their children graduated there because of Herbert’s worthy family and so did their family culture.
On February 9, 2024, Herbert Wigwe, along with his wife Doreen and their 29-year-old son Chizi, died in a helicopter crash near Nipton, California. The family is on the way from Palm Springs International Airport to Boulder, Nevada, and plans to attend Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
The crash also announced the lives of former Nigerian trading group PLC chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo and two crew members.
Watch Joyce settle the dispute in the video below.
