Nigeria’s foremost private school, the Lekki British International School is currently in crisis as 2 sons of the late founder, Biodun Laja fight for the take-over and control of the multi-billion dollar academic institution.
The tussle has taken a legal dimension as Francis is aggrieved that his brother, Christian is running the school without consulting him.
Lekki British School (LBS) is a British international school in Lekki, Lagos State. It serves preschool, junior school, and high school in its 25 acres (10 ha) campus. There is a boarding facility for high school students. The school was established in September 2000.
Francis filed a petition at the Federal High in Lagos asking for a restraining order against his brother.
According to him, after the death of their mother in 2019, Christian relocated his family to Nigeria and immediately took over the running of the chain of schools. He appointed himself as the de facto Chief Executive Officer without his consent and against his express objection.
Francis insists that as a lawyer, his mother had asked him before her death to engage the services of International investors who would run the school when she retired. This is in view of the fact that Christian had no requisite experience or training in running an academic institution.
In his affidavit, Francis alleged that he had convened a meeting with the Board of Directors of the school to discuss the implementation of an appropriate legal framework to regulate the governance and affairs of the school.
He added that he requested that Christian apply for a letter of administration at the Lagos High Court to legally administer the estate of their mother, particularly as it relates to her majority shares in the school.
Francis Idehen 
Biodun Laja 
Christian Idehen
According to Abiyemo,
“Francis said Christian refused to accede to any of his requests and has continued to run the school without regard to him and the board of Governors in an autocratic manner with his wife, Olufunke, whom he carved a role for in the school despite not being a director, a shareholder or employee of the school. This, he stressed, has led to a toxic work environment for the staff of the school.
“In addition, Christian, he adds, refused to give account of all expenditure made by him despite repeated demands to him to do so.
“Francis therefore urged the court to restrain Christian from parading himself as the Chief Executive Officer of the school while also asking the court to appoint a Board of Governors as interim administrators of the school with exclusive control over their affairs, including the bank accounts, cash and any other assets pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.
“In a counter-affidavit, Christian denied ever being served with a notice of the suit, but he accused his brother of making unilateral withdrawals from the bank accounts of the school and making payment to third parties from the funds of the school without his consent and approval.
“The presiding Judge, Nicholas Oweibo, in his pronouncement not only restrained both brothers from dealing with the bank accounts, cash and any other assets of the school without the express written consent of the other party pending the final determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, but also adjourned the case till October 5, 2021, for hearing to commence.“
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