A Lagos High Court in Igbosere on Wednesday heard that Mr Aminu Atiku, a son of former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, has not paid his children’s N250,000 monthly maintenance fee since February.
But Atiku told Justice Kazeem Alogba that he was meeting all his children’s needs.
Justice Alogba will today rule on an application by Atiku, seeking to suspend the N250,000 monthly payment.
The judge fixed the date after taking arguments from Oyinkan Badejo, Atiku’s counsel and Ethel Okoh, counsel for his ex-wife, Ms. Unmi Fatima Bolori.
Neither Atiku nor Bolori were present in court.
In the suit, Atiku is seeking to upturn a magistrates’ court decision awarding custody of the ex-couple’s daughter, Ameera, 11 and son, Aamir, 7 to Bolori.
He is also seeking a stay of execution on the N250,000 monthly maintenance fee, on the ground, among others, that it is “onerous”.
At the commencement of proceedings today, Badejo described the award of N250,000 as “curious” and averred that Atiku was satisfying all the needs of his children.
She disputed any connection between the sum and an earlier amount of N300,000 negotiated as child maintenance between the estranged couple before the matter was taken to court.
“It (the N300,000) had nothing to do with this case. It was an agreement facilitated by friends of the family towards an amicable settlement,” Badejo said.
According to her, the applicant (Atiku) was footing the children’s educational and medical bills, among others.
She added: “He’s paying for their schooling and all the incidentals including school bus, feeding. Their medical cover is comprehensive.”
The lawyer told the court that the lower court did not consider Atiku’s ability to pay the N250,000 and that the financial capacity of Atiku’s parents was irrelevant.
“The man is spending from his own pocket. How many 40-year olds are receiving allowances from their parents?” she asked.
But Okoh challenged her argument.
She said contrary to the Magistrates’ Court order, Atiku had not paid the N250,000 since March, adding that Section 62(5) of the Lagos State Child’s Rights Law required him to pay maintenance for his kids’ upkeep.
Okoh explained that the N250,000 monthly maintenance sum included payment for feeding and wardrobe allowance among others, in accordance with the N300,000 earlier child custody agreement.
Okoh said: “N300,000 is not beyond his (Atiku’s) means. On March 8 and 15, he sent the respondent two letters requesting the release of the kids to go on a two-week vacation abroad. The monthly allowance is a far cry from the cost of vacation abroad.
She alleged that Atiku did not pay his children’s school fees until April 11, a day before his appeal at the High Court.
Okoh added: “From February till date, nothing has been paid for the kids’ allowance. The respondent is also not aware of any arrangement for medical cover for the kids. They are not benefiting from any medical insurance.”
On January 10, 2018, Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Ayeye of the Tinubu Magistrates’ Court granted Bolori full custody of both children.
The court held that Aminu failed to file a response to Bolori’s application for child custody.
Ayeye held: “In view of the deliberate absence of the respondent and his legal team, I am constrained to make the following orders in default of respondent’s presence and in the best interest of the children to wit:
“Unmi Fatima Bolori is hereby granted full custody of Aamir Abubakar Sadiq Aminu Atiku (seven years) and Ameera Amina Atiku (nine years).
“The applicant is allowed to reside with the children at her residence at Katampe Extension, Abuja. The applicant is ordered to put the children in schools suited for their educational needs in Abuja.
“Access is granted to the respondent to visit his children in Abuja and request for the children to spend holidays with him.
“The respondent is ordered to pay monthly upkeep for the children in the amount of N250,000 monthly beginning January 2018.”
But Aminu, through his counsel Oyinkan Badejo, filed two applications; one seeking leave to appeal the lower court judgment, which was granted, and the other for a stay of further execution of its terms.
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She contended that the lower court erred by hearing and granting Bolori’s application for custody on a date the suit was fixed for mention.
Badejo said: “We are not seeking a stay of the execution of the judgment. But some of the terms were onerous. We were asked to pay N250,000 for the upkeep of two young children, medical allowances, etc. We find that rather onerous.”
Bolori, daughter of Maiduguri businessman Alhaji Bukar Bolori, married Aminu in Ghana in 2007, but the couple separated in 2011.
On October 18, 2017, Chief Magistrate Ayeye temporarily remanded Aminu in a transit cell within the court’s premises after citing him for alleged contempt.
Atiku allegedly kept Aamir from his mother, contrary to an October 11, 2017 order of the court.
There was further drama at the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court on January 10 following Chief Magistrate Ayeye’s judgment.
The boy’s mother claimed that Aminu snatched Aamir and drove off with him.
But the issue was resolved the next day when Aminu handed Aamir to Bolori at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
