Roomans Case: Son Tells Court Father No Longer Made Decisions Independently

In his sworn testimony dated June 13, 2025, and presented in court on November 20, Simon claimed that Ms. Maria Mahat exploited his father’s declining mental health to influence him to act in ways that suited her interests. He further argued that any alleged marriage between his father and Mahat, prior to his parents’ official divorce on January 22, 2021, was invalid. Simon maintained that his father’s relationship with Mahat directly caused the deterioration of his relationship with his mother, ultimately leading to their separation and divorce.

To support his claims, Simon submitted extensive documentation, including emails and other company records amounting to approximately 50 gigabytes of data, provided to him by his father’s former aide, Mike Luger. The defendants’ counsel challenged the validity of these documents, arguing that they were unreliable and inadmissible in court.

On the first two days of hearings, lawyers debated the admissibility of the documents. Lead counsel to the defendants, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, SAN, described the evidence as “hearsay,” claiming it did not originate from the original maker or recipient, a view supported by co-counsels Etigwe Uwa, SAN, and Adeyinka Aderemi, SAN.

However, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, representing Simon, argued that the documents were fully tenable. After reviewing the facts, the trial judge ruled the documents admissible, allowing them to be formally submitted into evidence.

During cross-examination, Adekoya, SAN, questioned Simon about his physical absence from his father, highlighting a perceived gap in their relationship. Simon, who left Nigeria at age nine to attend boarding school in the United Kingdom and had not seen his father since 2015, insisted that their bond remained strong, maintained through regular telephone contact. He cited several instances where his father created roles for him within his companies, visits to his workplaces abroad, and both parents attending his wedding in Australia as evidence of a cordial relationship.

Uwa, SAN, representing Mahat, suggested the relationship gap between father and son existed prior to Mahat’s involvement. Aderemi, SAN, asked if Simon suffered from dementia, to which he responded negatively as his cross-examination concluded.

Earlier in the proceedings, other witnesses, including Mr. Rakesh Lal, Project Manager of Sea Trucks Group in Singapore, and Marie-José Groenen, a niece of the deceased, also testified, pointing to instances that they say demonstrate the deceased was allegedly influenced by Mahat.