By EDITH NWAPI

Family members have expressed worry over the “slow pace of” granting probate or Letters of Administration for them to legally manage, distribute the assets of their deceased loved ones.

Speaking to a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), they complained that the slow and opaque nature of the probate process in Nigeria was leading to delays in accessing estate assets.

An Abuja-resident, Mrs Hauwa Ali, said she was helpless, especially when she applied for the letter of administration in 2023 and nothing has changed.

“We are in 2025 now and I am waiting for the approval. I am frustrated because the matter is not progressing and recovery of my husband’s assets is stalled.

“The probate process is tedious and lengthy, taking months or even years to complete,” she said.

Another resident, Ms Calista Onu, narrated her experience while trying to access her mother’s bank account.

“I applied for the probate in August 2024, after my mother passed. I had to prove my identity as a next-of-kin or beneficiary even when my mother named me as her next-of-kin.

“As we speak, I have not heard any word from the probate department. The nature of the probate process is becoming a burden on me,” she said.

Mr Tony Ishaya, who is waiting for the letter of administration for his late brother’s asset, said he started the process in 2023.

“My application was stalled because my other brothers challenged me as the next-of-kin for our late brothers’ estates.

“Because of that I had to start the application all over again to show that I was named in his will.

“I had to engage a lawyer, who advised me and we getting close to ending the process,” he said.

Another resident, Ms Esther Samuel, said she faced probate problems due to what she called complex legal processes and lengthy delays, and costly procedures.

“These made me lost rightful entitlement and almost frustrated my chances to manage my deceased sister’s assets.

“The probate process in Nigeria is often bogged down by administrative complex legal procedures, making it a long and frustrating ordeal for families,” she said.

Responding to the complains, the Director of Probate, FCT judiciary, Mr Samuel Idhiarhi, the process involves extensive paperwork and adherence to various state-specific laws and procedures, which can be confusing and lead to further delays.

Idhiarhi said, that letters of administration are not issued for the fun of it and the delays in issuance could be caused by “external factors”.

Those assets, he said, could include banks account, cash, property, shares among others.

“What are the usual assets? Bank deposits, building, cash, land; it could be chairs, it could be jewellery.

“The internal requirements include payment of two per cent of the value of the assets which is paid to the court and two sureties are required.

“The process starts when the percentage is paid and the court makes publication which runs for 21 days ” he said.

He said the progress runs within six months and if stalled due to delay in providing materials required, the applicant starts afresh.

The director stated that among the requirements also are presentation of letter of introduction of the applicant and the death certificate of the deceased.

He said those things must be provided before the process can begin and because of volume of applications coming in, publication is done every Monday in the FCT jurisdiction.

“In some jurisdictions, they don’t have the volume we have here, so they can say, look, because of the cost of publication, we will wait until we have 40 before we go to publish.

“As we wait to the 40 applications, it may take a month or more,” he said.

He also said the process of getting the bank consent to establish that the deceased account is with them can also cause a delay.

“It is outside our control, like errors in the name of the account holder or next of kin.

“It is when all the errors are cleared and the bank gives the approval that the applicant can bring it to us.

“In case of property, like landed property, we must write to Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) must be written to know about the property and for shares you approach the stock brokers,” he said.

Idhiarhi said that when all the requirements are met, the process does not delay in the court.

“The file comes to the director of probate (me), when done, it is taken to the Chief Registrar for signing and checking, lastly, the file goes to the Chief judge for checking, signing and approval.

“It does not delay when it is within our control, the delays are from the factors outside our control.

“At times, the members of the deceased family are the cause of these delays, when they tend to be confused on who the next-of-kin should be,” he said. (NAN)

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