fight over aliu mahama’s estate

Barely five months after the demise
of former Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, a feud has ensued among
members of his family over his properties. The struggle pitches one
Mohammed Aliu, the eldest son of the late Vice-President, on one side,
and his stepmother, Hajia Ramatu, who remained the Alhaji’s wife until
his demise last year, on the other.

There are also reports of
some extended family members interested in Alhaji Mahama’s properties.
The late Vice-President’s properties are said to include houses, fleet
of vehicles, industries, plots of land, farmlands and an assortment of
investments.

Who gets what has become thorny as the late Vice-President reportedly died without a will.

A
family source told The Finder newspaper that some individuals in Hajia
Ramatu’s circles have refused to recognise Mohammed Aliu as the
biological son of the late Vice-President in order to rule him out as an
heir to his property.

Hajia Ramatu in her letter of
administration prepared recently lists only her four children – three
sons and a daughter – as the rightful children to inherit her husband’s
properties.

Upon sighting the letter of administration omitting
his name from the list of the Vice-President’s children, Mohammed
quickly rushed to the court to place an injunction on it.

The
mother of the first son, Hajia Sanatu, a retired police officer,
expressed shock at efforts by some family members to cause disaffection
among the late Vice-President’s children by claiming that Mohammed Aliu
was not a biological son of the late Vice-President.

She told The
Finder that she met the late Alhaji Aliu way back in 1967 and that they
had a child two years later despite the fact that they were not
married.

Hajia Sanatu said the late Vice-President was still
pursuing his degree course at the then University of Science and
Technology (UST).

She said Alhaji Aliu Mahama directed her to
stay with his mother in his hometown, Yendi. Hajia Sanatu said due to
maternity challenges she requested to return to Tamale for safe
delivery, which was granted by Alhaji Aliu’s family.

After
delivery all the necessary outdooring rites were performed by the family
of Alhaji Aliu Mahama, including naming the child after Aliu’s father,
Mohammed, she said.

Hajia Sanatu said all the care, love,
affection and security that a father bestows to his child was done by
the late Vice-President.

Also, a prominent uncle of Mohammed
Aliu, the chief of Choggu, Naa Yakubu, revealed that the former
Vice-President never defaulted in performing his duties as an in-law to
the family.

“He has always participated in all events concerning the family,” Naa Yakubu said.

He
said the family has also been consistently supportive of the late
Alhaji Aliu’s family as their in-laws, and on the occasion of his demise
they performed their role per Dagbon tradition as in-laws by presenting
a ram and cash as the contribution from the maternal family of the
first son of the deceased.

Meanwhile, sources close to Hajia
Ramatu, the widow of the late Vice-President, has indicated that her
move to apply for application of entitlement was borne out of
information she had that some members of the family wanted Aliu’s
properties to be shared among close to 30 dependants in addition to his
biological children.

the finder: