Siblings are often painted as your forever friends — people who’ll always have your back and love you without conditions. But what happens when they inflict your life’s deepest wounds?
In this story, we spoke to six Nigerians who experienced a devastating fallout with their siblings. Their stories will make you question whether blood is truly thicker than water.
“She dumped her kids on me for 8 years, then acted like nothing happened” — *Bolu, 44
*Bolu played the family’s backbone for years and supported everyone, including her sister’s children. But even the strongest have their breaking point.
“I was the only one with a stable job when my older sister, *Bola, got a visa to travel to London. She needed money for accommodation and begged me for a loan. I didn’t want to give it because I was saving to start a business, but our mum guilt-tripped me into helping her.
Before she left, she dropped off her two children with me for a few months. Those ‘few months’ became eight years. She also said she’d send in money for their upkeep and the loan every month, but I didn’t get one dime from Bola. It was eight whole years of paying their school fees, feeding them, and caring for them — all while raising three kids of my own.
Then, one day, out of nowhere, she called to say she was coming back to Nigeria. When she arrived, she treated me with complete disdain. No thanks or acknowledgement for all I’d done. She simply announced she was taking the kids on vacation. After the trip, she returned them like a parcel and told me she was leaving again.
That was it for me. I refused to take them back and it became a huge fight. She cursed me, and my mum begged me to let it go ‘for peace,’ but I’d had enough. I insisted she take her children with her if she was leaving again.
It’s been two years since then. She hasn’t reached out, and neither have I. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t bother me.”
“My brother threw me out in a country I barely knew” — *Flora, 37
*Flora never imagined her own brother would be the reason she ended up homeless abroad. It left her shocked.
“My brother, Ike, and I were born British citizens. He’s older and was sent to study in Manchester first. But just before his convocation, our father found out Ike had dropped out after his first year, despite collecting tuition fees for almost three years. It broke our parents’ hearts, and they also became hesitant about sending me abroad. So I stayed back and studied at UNILAG.
Years later, when my husband lost his job and we struggled financially, my father offered to sponsor our move to London. He said we could stay with Ike temporarily. By then, Ike had turned his life around. He worked at a nursing home and had his own house.
But the moment we landed, Ike changed. He acted coldly towards us, and just two weeks in, gave us a three-day ultimatum to leave his house if we didn’t get jobs. We hadn’t even found our footing yet. I thought he was joking until the third day, when he returned from work and threw out our things.
Our parents called to beg him, but he stood his ground. I was in shock. I never imagined my own brother could kick me out in a country I barely knew, without caring where I’d sleep that night.
We ended up living in a church for two months. Ike never called or checked on us. Now, we live in the same city, but as far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t exist.”
“They buried our father against his wish, then threatened me” — Abisola, 50
Abisola had never gotten along with her older step-brothers — not as a child, and definitely not as an adult.
“I’ve never liked my older step-brothers. They were pure evil and took every opportunity to bully me as a kid. I’ll never forget when I was about nine and they fed me turkey wattle. I threw it in the bin, and they still forced me to dig it out and eat.
Still, I tolerated them for our father’s sake. But even he suffered at their hands until the day he died. Not long before he passed, he told me he didn’t want to be buried in our village. He feared they’d do something diabolical to him.. He showed me the land he bought at Victoria Gardens and made me and his lawyer promise to bury him there.
When I informed my brothers of his wish, they insulted me and shut me down as usual. They insisted on taking his body to the village. My father had seen it coming. He told me that if they did, I should refuse to go with them.
So I played along until the day they planned to move his body. Then I switched off my phone and went into hiding. They searched everywhere but couldn’t find me. Eventually, they left without me.
When they returned from the village, they stormed my house with threats — dangerous ones. That’s when I decided I was done with them. I moved to another state and stopped reaching out. They did the same. We’ve been out of contact for over ten years, and I feel relieved. They never cared about me anyway.”
“My brother scammed us, then ghosted the whole family” — *Isaac, 27
*Isaac always knew his brother’s selfishness would cost the family one day. He turned out to be right.
“My brother, King, was selfish. I think it’s because he was overpampered as the first son. In 2015, our father was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He battled it for five years before he died in 2020.
Before dying, he divided his properties equally among King, our sister, and me. But not long after the burial, King started acting out. He suddenly claimed our dad had promised him extra money for a Master’s degree abroad, beyond what he already got in the will.
None of us believed him. So, he started blackmailing our mum until she secretly loaned him the money our dad had left in her care for all of us — without informing my sister and me.
A few weeks after he travelled, he dropped a bombshell in our family group chat. He said he was disappointed we didn’t believe him, cutting ties with all of us, and wouldn’t refund the money because it was his ‘birthright’. He also said he never felt loved in the family.
I was furious. I tried calling him, but he’d blocked all of us.
It’s been three years. I’ve told my mum to stop trying to find him, but she won’t let it go. She’s even developed hypertension from the stress. As for me? If he ever comes back, he’s dead to me.”
“He stole over ₦250M from me” — *Khalifa, 43
It’s hard to rebuild trust when broken, especially by family. For *Khalifa, it wasn’t just the money as much as the betrayal.
“My older stepbrother, Umar, was struggling. We weren’t close as kids, but it was hard to ignore his situation. Despite having an accounting degree, he was selling recharge cards to survive.
I brought him into my shipping business and put him in charge of the money and financial records. He started off well. But after a while, things didn’t add up. Business slowed and money started disappearing. I got suspicious but blamed the economy. Umar was older and a respected Alfa, so I trusted him completely without suspicion.
However, his wife eventually told my wife that Umar was planning to scam one of my business partners and steal money. That was when I started digging. I found out he’d siphoned over ₦250 million.
He used the money to buy properties under different names. We tried recovering some of the finds, but most had vanished. When I threatened to arrest him, he finally admitted everything and begged. I let it go. But I will never forgive him.”
“She called me infertile and spread rumors about me” — Tara, 31
Siblings should be your first and fiercest defenders. For Tara, her sister only worsened her reputation.
“My mum had gone to spend some time in the U.S. and returned with lots of gifts. Since she was at my place, all the goodies were with me.
When it was time to share, my sister tried to take everything — clothes, food. She claimed she deserved more because she’s older. She even packed clothes that wouldn’t fit her kids. I joked about it, but she turned it into a full blown fight.
She said horrible and degrading things that made me realise the issue was deeper than just the gifts. The one that hit hardest? She said I was jealous because I was infertile and she had kids. Even after all that, I tried to make peace. Then I heard she’d been spreading disgusting rumours about me and my husband. My own sister.
That was the last straw. It became clear she didn’t want peace. We cut each other off from then, and I haven’t looked back since.”
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