Otutochi Channel Uzoamaka Wigwe, daughter of the late Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Herbert Onyewumbua Wigwe, has approached the High Court of Justice of the British Virgin Islands in a series of legal actions aimed at restoring a dissolved offshore company and facilitating the sale of its sole remaining asset — a luxury yacht valued at $6.5 million.
The yacht, named Chitochi, is a 2016 Custom Line 108 measuring 33 metres. It was held by Grosvenor Marine Ventures Ltd., a BVI-registered company jointly owned by Herbert Wigwe and his wife, Doreen Chizoba Wigwe. The vessel was based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and had been listed by American yacht brokerages at an asking price of $6.5 million.
Court documents show that Grosvenor Marine Ventures Ltd. was struck off the BVI Register of Companies and dissolved on 5 November 2024 for non-payment of annual fees. The company had been incorporated on 7 March 2012 (registration number 1699812). At the time of the couple’s deaths, all issued shares stood in their joint names, and they were the company’s only directors.
Herbert Wigwe, his wife Doreen, and their son Chizi died in a helicopter crash in California on 9 February 2024. The court filings state that both parents were domiciled in Nigeria at the time of their deaths. The yacht is described in the documents as a depreciating asset requiring significant ongoing maintenance and insurance, with expenses continuing to accrue and placing the estates at risk of financial loss.
Otutochi Wigwe and Uchechukwu Nwabueze Wigwe (described as a cousin-in-law of the deceased) filed three related claims in the BVI High Court between January and February 2026. They acted as intended administrators of the estates.
The first claim (BVIHCOM2026/0032), filed on 6 January 2026, related to the estate of Doreen Chizoba Wigwe. The second (BVIHCV2026/0004), filed on 15 January 2026, concerned the estate of Herbert Onyewumbua Wigwe. Both sought emergency limited grants of administration under the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court rules to collect and secure the shares in Grosvenor Marine Ventures Ltd., allowing the administrators’ names to be entered in the company’s register of members so the rights attached to the shares could be exercised to preserve the value of the estates.
The court granted the limited authority. On 22 January 2026, the applicants received a Grant of Letters of Administration ad colligenda bona defuncti, following orders made by Justice Theresa Hadad on 15 January 2026.
The third claim (BVIHCOM2026/0068), filed on 2 February 2026 against the Registrar of Corporate Affairs, sought the restoration of Grosvenor Marine Ventures Ltd. to the Register of Companies under sections 218(1)(d) and 218(2)(f) of the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004. The application was supported by an affidavit from Uchechukwu Nwabueze Wigwe and an affirmation from Otutochi Wigwe. Global Corporate Consultants Group, Inc., the former registered agent, agreed to resume the role after restoration. The claimants undertook to pay all outstanding fees, penalties and the Registrar’s legal costs, and to file the necessary registers within 14 days of restoration.
The filings were driven by a proposed sale. Documents stated that an attractive offer had been received for the yacht, conditional on completion by 31 January 2026. Because a dissolved company cannot deal with its assets, restoration was required before any lawful sale could proceed. The restoration application was filed two days after that deadline.
In March 2026, yacht industry publication SuperYacht24 reported that brokerage firm IYC had completed the sale of Chitochi. The transaction was handled on the seller’s side by IYC sales and charter consultant Mark Elliott. The yacht had previously been listed at $6.5 million; the final sale price was not publicly disclosed.
The BVI proceedings are separate from earlier disputes in Nigerian courts, where members of Herbert Wigwe’s extended family challenged aspects of the estate arrangements but were unsuccessful. Those cases did not address the offshore yacht.
Otutochi Wigwe is the eldest surviving child of the late couple and has been involved in managing aspects of the family estate and the Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe Foundation.
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