Helen Prest Appeals Judgment Affirming Adenike as Dr. Tosin Ajayi’s Sole Widow

​LAGOS — Former Miss Nigeria and prominent legal practitioner, Helen Prest-Ajayi, alongside her daughter, Tomisin Ajayi, has officially filed an appeal to overturn a landmark high court judgment that stripped her of spousal recognition regarding the multi-million naira estate of her late partner, Dr. Tosin Ajayi.

​In a notice of appeal dated June 18, 2026, the appellants approached the Court of Appeal in Lagos, asking the appellate court to set aside the June 17 verdict delivered by Justice Oluwatoyin Odusanya of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.

​The High Court ruling had conclusively declared Mrs. Adenike Oluyemisi Ajayi as the sole and lawful widow of the late medical mogul and founder of the prestigious First Foundation Hospital.

​The High Court Verdict: Why Helen Prest Lost

​The lower court’s decision put a definitive, albeit temporary, pause on a bitter five-year legal battle that began shortly after Dr. Ajayi passed away intestate (without a will) on April 26, 2020.

​Justice Odusanya granted all the legal reliefs sought by Mrs. Adenike Ajayi and her five children, affirming her entitlement to one-third of the doctor’s personal estate and establishing her as the exclusive individual legally permitted to apply for Letters of Administration.

​In dismissing Helen Prest’s competing spousal claims, the court established key judicial precedents:

• ​Prolonged Separation is Not Divorce: The defense had heavily argued that Dr. Ajayi had been completely estranged and separated from Adenike for over 35 years before his demise, living with the former beauty queen as a partner since 1996. However, Justice Odusanya firmly rejected this, ruling that “Separation, no matter how prolonged, does not dissolve a valid marriage unless there is a formal dissolution.”

• ​Inconsistent Marital Claims: The judge described Prest’s claim of a Kalabari customary marriage as an “afterthought,” pointing out that she had taken contradictory stances in previous legal filings—variously describing herself as a common-law partner and a civil-law union spouse.

• ​Lack of Evidence & Prior Subsisting Marriage: The court noted that Prest failed to present basic details, documentary evidence, or photographic proof of the alleged traditional wedding. Furthermore, the court held that even if a customary marriage had occurred, it would be legally void because evidence showed Prest was still legally married to her previous husband, Mr. Davies, at the time she claimed to have wedded Dr. Ajayi.

​The Groundwork for the Appeal

​Unwilling to accept the judgment, Helen Prest-Ajayi and her daughter are now challenging the high court’s legal interpretation of the facts.

​Throughout the initial trial, led by her counsel Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), Prest maintained that she had fulfilled all traditional Kalabari marriage rites with the deceased and functioned publicly as his wife—even co-arranging family events and sitting prominently beside him without challenge from the first family.

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​The defense had also argued that Adenike lacked basic knowledge of the doctor’s life, residence, and final illness, which they claimed proved the statutory marriage had effectively ceased to exist.

​With the notice of appeal now filed, the high-stakes dispute over the inheritance, personal effects, and assets of the First Foundation Medical Engineering Company moves to the appellate court, promising another chapter in one of Nigeria’s most closely watched estate battles.