Entertainment
My Candid Opinion on David Adeleke vs Sophia Momodu
By Dele Momodu
Last night, I received a distressing message from Mr David Adeleke (aka Davido). He was obviously devastated by the counter-affidavit submitted in court, earlier in the day, in response to his affidavit seeking a joint custody of his daughter with my niece Sophia Momodu.
I had seen David’s affidavit about two weeks ago and I was very surprised as David and I had spoken on a video call days earlier, with him and Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, and he never told me he had any custody issues with my niece. So you can imagine my confusion to find out via social media and subsequently confirmed by my niece that he had filed an action in court seeking joint custody of their daughter.
During the referenced video call, we were all very excited about his forthcoming wedding ceremony, an event our family congratulated him about. Prior to this, David had told me he eventually spoke to their daughter, after a long lull of about two years.
He was very happy and excited. So I thought everything was settled and he and Sophia would now have the opportunity of taking maximum care of their daughter. I had offered special thanks to David’s Dad, Dr Adedeji Adeleke, for his kindness and support for our daughter during the period of David’s absence.
I had also taken Sophia and their daughter to my very dear friend, Governor Ademola Adeleke, seeking his intervention. To the best of my knowledge, there was never a problem of joint custody. The issues were: non-payment of school fees for several sessions; non-payment of accommodation and salaries of a nanny. There was no car dedicated to David’s daughter. And so on. Mercifully, I mentioned all to Dr Adedeji Adeleke and he responded positively, like a true grandfather. On the issue of non-payment of school fees, David’s Dad cleared everything and also set up payments of future bills. He gave his grand daughter a car to take her to school. The remaining issue was on accommodation.
David’s Dad verbally offered, in his discussions with me, one of their family apartments in Oniru Estate, Victoria Island, however, maybe due to miscommunication, David’s lawyers had communicated otherwise. After Sophia clarified from me, she politely declined the offer, and her reason was tenable in my view, because, since she’s not married to David, she can’t be comfortable living in a place swarming with David’s family members.
She and her daughter had been living in Ikoyi before David and Sophia started their latest quarrels. Sophia’s request was that David should pay half of the accommodation while she would pay the other half. David said he could only contribute N5million annually.
My opinion is that the absence of camaraderie between David and Sophia has caused this debacle. I have cautioned repeatedly that their daughter must not be allowed to suffer or be treated like a second class child. David’s global status makes this imperative.
Sophia allowed David access to their daughter provided she has her nanny around 24/7. The 9-year old herself made this request and I believe this should be favorably considered and accepted. My grand niece had been released to go out with her cousins on several occasions.
The Governor’s daughter, Nike, was at Sophia’s house with the Governor’s grandson last Christmas Day, despite the fact that there wasn’t ample notice & she was still granted access.
Two months ago, the Governor’s son, Sina Rambo, requested a play date between the kids & Sophia rented out a children’s place in Victoria Island for them to spend hours together. The only time she couldn’t join her father’s family was when her grandfather requested to go on vacation with her for three weeks last year, as the notice was too short, and Sophia had already paid for their own trips, due to lack of communication between the parents.
The court yesterday referred the case for possible settlement by the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) section of the court during Settlement Week and I strongly advise that David (and Sophia) engage truly with the process as opposed to making harmful and irreversible statements on social media which not only violate the law but the interest of their child. I have in the past 9 years tried my best to ensure amicable resolution of disputes and encouraged both parents to have a proper structure put in place for the welfare of their daughter. It is important to note that Sophia did not instigate this court action and is only seeking to protect their daughter and ensure that there is a structured, safe and sustainable manner in which father and child can engage with each other.
The vitriolic rhetoric in the media should be avoided by all means as this only further inflames what is already a traumatic experience for all parties involved, especially the child in question.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned an alleged order by a Magistrate Court in Kano State reportedly directing two social media content creators, Idris Mai Wushirya and Basira Yar Guda, to marry each other within 60 days.
The court directive reportedly followed a case against the duo over the circulation of a video deemed “indecent” by state authorities.
The content, which went viral on TikTok and other platforms, featured affectionate scenes between the two influencers.
The Kano State Films and Video Censorship Board claimed the video violated public morality and religious codes governing conduct in the state.
Magistrate Halima Wali reportedly handed down the marriage directive on Monday after arraigning the pair on charges relating to the production and distribution of obscene content online.
Reacting to the development, NBA President Afam Osigwe described the court order as a “grave misunderstanding of the limits of judicial authority under the Nigerian Constitution and constitutes an affront to the fundamental rights of the individuals concerned.”
Osigwe noted that no court has the power to compel any person to marry another person or two persons to mandatorily marry, adding: “It is indeed unconstitutional and therefore unlawful for any court to purport to have power to make such an order.”
He added that such an order would constitute a violation of several fundamental rights guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“Marriage, by its very nature, is a voluntary union between consenting adults. It cannot, under any circumstance, be imposed as a form of punishment, moral correction, or judicial remedy.
“No court in Nigeria possesses the constitutional authority to compel two persons to marry, and any attempt to do so violates the rights to personal liberty, dignity of the human person, and privacy as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
The alleged order, according to the NBA president, is an example of judicial overreach that not only infringes on personal freedoms but also could undermine public trust in the legal system.
“The courts must remain the bastion of justice and protectors of constitutional rights, not instruments for enforcing social conformity or moral compulsion,” Osigwe added.
The NBA then called for an immediate review of this decision by Magistrate Halima Wali and urged the relevant judicial authorities to take steps to prevent a recurrence of such unconstitutional orders.
It also directed the NBA Citizens’ Liberties Committee and Women’s Forum to monitor the situation to ensure that the rule of law prevails.
Globacom, through its social investment vehicle, Glo Foundation, on Friday hosted hundreds of girls from various secondary schools across the country to a symbolic walk and movie outing as part of activities mapped out to celebrate this year’s International Day of the Girl Child.
One hundred girls selected from five secondary schools across Lagos were received at the corporate head office of Globacom, Mike Adenuga Towers, Victoria Island, where they received encouraging words from senior female executives of Globacom.
The girls were drawn from Queens College, Sabo Yaba; Vivian Fowler Memorial College, Oregun, Ikeja; Herbert Macaulay Girls Senior High School, Yaba; Kuramo Senior College, Victoria Island; and Victoria Island Secondary School.
The session was held to encourage the girls to aim for the top in whatever field of endeavour that they opt for academically and to strive for excellence and success in any sphere of work or business within their environment.
The students were received by Globacom’s Director, Strategy and Board Affairs, Mrs Mojisola Ashieru Sweet, who admonished the girls to be proud of who they are and be confident that success will come when they strive for it.
Globacom’s Head of Human Resources, Mrs Jumoke Aduwo, equally echoed this further by advising the girls to focus on developing a strong character.
The girls later took a symbolic walk from the head office to Globacom’s Customer Care and Information Systems departments, where they were imparted with knowledge on how some of the telecommunications operations work.
Afterwards, they all moved over to Silverbird Cinema, where they watched a Nollywood movie, “The Serpent’s Gift”, which features Linda Ejiofor and radio presenter and actor, Chico Aligwejwe.
In Abuja, girls from Al-Noor Academy, Wuse, and Redeemers Private School were hosted at the Glo office and at Silverbird Cinema, Jabi Lake Mall.
In Kaduna, Owerri, Port Harcourt and Benin City, the story was similar as girls from selected schools were received in Glo offices and later taken to the movies where they all watched the movie, “The Serpent’s Gift”.
After the movie sessions, the girls were made to discuss the lessons learnt from the movie they watched. This was to help them develop public speaking skills and build confidence in themselves.
Imisi, one of the 29 housemates that signed up for this season’s Big Brother Naija show titled Season 10: 10/10, has been announced the winner.
The housemate triumphed over eight other finalists to claim the first position, winning N150 million worth of prizes.
