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Tag: My wife

  • ‘I didn’t kill my wife’

    An electrician, Ismaila Salau, yesterday told a Lagos High Court in Igbosere that he did not kill his wife with a pestle and dump her in a stream.

    Salau, 49, was arraigned in 2015 by the Lagos State Government on a one-count charge of murdering his wife, Silifat Yakubu, in 2014.

    The government told Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye that the defendant allegedly committed the offence about 11pm on October 3, 2014, at 18, Igbele village, Araromi, Badagry.

    It said Salau killed Yakubu by hitting her on the head with a pestle and dumping her in a nearby stream.

    The alleged offence contravenes Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

    Salau pleaded not guilty.

    At the resumption of trial yesterday, Salau opened his defence.

    Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr. A. A. Babalola, the witness said he could not have killed his wife that night, because he was held up in traffic after running errands for a friend.

    He said he left home around 6am and returned the following day at 4am because his friend sent him on an errand.

    “I was held up in traffic until the early hours of the following day. My car also fell into a ditch due to flood’, Salau told the court.

    He said he phoned his wife, who was visiting her parents during the Sallah festivities.

    Salau said when he got home; he did not see his wife and her phone was switched off.

    He said he called his elder daughter, who told him that the deceased left her mother’s house since 8pm.

    Salau narrated how he went for a village meeting the following day and heard about an expectant mother who drowned in a stream.

    He said: “I then told the baale (village head) that my wife was missing. He asked me and my wife’s elder brother to go to the Badagry General Hospital mortuary where the body was deposited to check if it was my wife.

    “When I saw the body, I knew that that was my wife.”

    During cross-examination by prosecuting counsel Jubril Kareem, Salau said he did not report his wife’s absence to the police.

    He denied making a confessional statement to the police.

    Justice Ipaye adjourned further hearing till April 9.

     

  • My wife beats me frequently, Pastor tells court

    An Ibadan- based Pastor, Samuel Adedeji on Thursday, told a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan to terminate the year-old union between him and his wife, Temiloluwa, over threat to his life.

    In his petition to the court, Adedeji who lived at Ologuneru area of Ibadan accused his wife of frequently beating him and distracting him from his ministry.

    “I think that I actually got it wrong by not making proper spiritual consultation before I went to the altar with Temiloluwa as a husband.

    “For too long, I have had to cope with all sorts of humiliation, insults, abuses in addition to emotional and psychological torture which I have often suffered from her.

    “When Temiloluwa’s troublemaking reached its peak, she started beating me and tearing off my dresses.

    “Recently, she gave me three dirty slaps in the night and was attempting to stab me to death that same night when I had to run for my dear life.

    “Temiloluwa has no regard for anybody because by her attitude, she is a devil in human skin.

    “Now, she has left my home and I need to move on too.

    “There is no more love between both of us,” Samuel said.

    However, the respondent was conspicuously absent in the court when she was called to respond to the allegations leveled against her.

    The court’s bailiff informed the Arbitrators, led by the President, Chief Ademola Odunade that he had served notices of court hearing on Temiloluwa and that she deliberately ignored the notices.

    After careful consideration, Odunade dissolved the union, citing threat to life as the reason.

    He ordered that the copy of the judgment be served on the respondent for her to be aware of the latest in the case.

  • I’ll complete 2nd Niger Bridge because of my wife, says Atiku

    •PDP candidate to reactivate ports in Delta

    PEOPLE’S Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has promised the Southeast people that he will complete the Second Niger Bridge.

    Atiku, who made the promise yesterday at the party’s mega campaign rally in Onitsha, said he would ensure its quick completion because of his wife, who hails from the commercial city of Anambra.

    He also promised to ensure the completion and construction of roads in the region with the assistance of his running mate, Mr. Peter Obi.

    Atiku, who was accompanied to the campaign field by Obi and his wife, Jenifer Atiku Abubakar, said he was not in Onitsha to campaign, but to present his wife and deputy, who he said were the real contestants.

    “I’m not here to campaign, but to inform you that your son, Peter Obi and your daughter are the real contestants. I’m in the minority.

    “You asked me to complete Second Niger Bridge, that I’ll do because of my wife. With Peter Obi as the VP, be rest assured that the roads in the region will be completed too,” the candidate said.

    Asking the people to get their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) ready to vote out President Buhari’s  All Progressives Congress (APC) administration at the February election, Atiku asked them to vote for PDP candidates.

    Also speaking, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, who presented the party’s candidates, canvased votes for them at the polls.

    During his visit to the Obi of Onitsha, Obi Alfred Achebe, Atiku sought for the blessing of the monarch, which, according to him, would boost his economic dreams for the country.

    “Your royal blessing will nurture this quest for new economic direction of our country through new political economy resolve.”

    He also assured the monarch that his policy would promote culture and tourism in the country.

    Atiku also yesterday vowed to reactivate all ports in Delta State, if elected president.

    Atiku, who addressed PDP faithful in the state, was accompanied by his running mate, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Secondus and Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

    He said his administration would complete the Federal Government projects abandoned by the APC, adding that the projects were abandoned because the state “is loyal to the PDP”.

    Atiku said the Second Niger Bridge would receive priority attention by his administration.

    He said his administration would reward the loyalty of Delta State to the PDP since 1999.

    His words: “All the projects abandoned by the APC will be completed. This state has suffered marginalisation by the APC because of its loyalty to the PDP. Because you have been loyal, my government will reward your loyalty.”

    Atiku accused the APC of engaging in propaganda, adding that the party has reneged on its promises of fixing the Nigerian economy, tackling security and providing jobs for the masses.

    Read also: Buhari in Kano: I’ll continue to fulfil my promises

    Okowa hailed Deltans for being peace-loving, stressing that “we have built bridges of partnership of peace and relationships. We have built infrastructure, education, health and created jobs through our job creation initiatives. We believe in the PDP vision of bringing peace to all Nigerians”.

    Okowa assured the PDP  presidential candidate that the party would win with landslide victory.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki mocked President Buhari for  his alleged poor performance during the media debates, hailing Atiku as “eloquent, intelligent and articulate”.

    He said the APC should be voted out of power because it has failed to keep its promises of revamping the economy, tackling security issues and providing jobs for the teeming youths.

    He said the APC has scared businesses away because it was not a respecter of rule of law.

    To Obi, a vote for Atiku is a vote for growth.

    Secondus said the party would cash in on every misstep made by the President and the APC.

    He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is under pressure to rig the election, but warned that it would be an invitation to war.

     

     

     

  • Why I enjoy running business with my wife – Executive Trainers chair Ayodele Ogunsan

    Dr Ayo Ogunsan is a man of many parts. This year, he is celebrating ten years of robust business and building of relationships that span many industries and social groups. A pioneer of sort in the advancing of higher education in Africa, Ogunsan shares some of his success secrets with PAUL UKPABIO.

    Congratulations as your organization Executive Trainers marks its tenth year in business, how are you celebrating the landmark?

    It’s been a decade of advancing higher education in Africa with serious emphasis on Nigeria, our great country. The celebration of the successful and impactful ten years of adding value to human capacity development of higher education practitioners in Nigeria is absolutely dedicated to God; He is the reason for our celebration and we will continue to give Him the first place in this great service to the nation.

    Looking at the business terrain in Nigeria, what would you say have been the factors that have influenced the success of your organization?

    There are a lot to celebrate. We are celebrating a result-oriented and transformational impact in capacity development of our higher institutions, academics and non-academics. We are celebrating the exposure of Nigerian higher education leaders to what is obtainable in developed institutions of the world. We are celebrating productive collaborations and synergies between Nigerian institutions and their counterparts in developed nations. We are celebrating staff transfers and transfers, double degrees, institutional grants, post-graduate trainings and placements, knowledge and equipment transfers. All these are made possible through the Executive Trainers platform. You will agree with me that there are a lot to celebrate.

    Over the last ten years, did you on any day feel the need to give up on continuing in the business? The business terrain in Nigeria is very rough but dynamic and so, only the rugged and innovative business people can navigate through it. I have been in private business for the last 13years and I understand the Nigerian business climate very well. All I do is innovate new ideas, sustain the good ideas of the moment, motivate my staff to do more and keep offering my clients world class service and give them value for their money.

    So with such situation, is there a need for you to celebrate ten years?

    Business is full of challenges and I have that understanding before venturing into it. Challenges don’t alarm me because I know they sometimes must cease. I know better things await me when I overcome any challenge. The most recent and disturbing one  is TETFUND’s decision to stop patronizing indigenous higher education training outfit with reputable and longstanding relationships with renowned institutions across the globe for their foreign training needs. That singular policy killed almost all the training outfits in Nigeria. I thank God that I am into many other business interests. So, I could survive the unfortunate policy. We cried out to the present government to reverse the anti-entrepreneurial policy but nothing has been done. Only recently, I read that all trainings will now be domesticated by TETFUND. That is a good policy but I hope they will patronize local and indigenous higher education training outfits.

    Has there been any time that you have thought of giving up?

    No, no thought of such. I can’t give up and I will never give up to business challenges God helping me.

    Looking around, one notices that not all men run their business concerns with their spouses. Tell us what motivated your wife’s involvement in your business? Was it out of the love you had for her, or did it go beyond love?

    The most interesting and memorable times I have had in my life, be it business or otherwise, are the ones I share with my beloved wife. I have always dreamt and desired to run a business with my partner. It has worked for me for the last 13years. She is an excellent woman. She is the stabilizing factor in the business, always willing and ready to run with me. She is the most

    Reliable and dependable stakeholder in the business. And for a restless businessman like me, she is the only one I have access to anytime of the day to discuss about the business. I love it and enjoy it.

    Does that mean that she has been part of the major factors of growth for your business and in what ways?

    Yes, in all ways.

    So using your wife as a parameter, would you say that women have found their feet and definitely come of age in the corporate world?

    I totally agree.

    Today you are the Chairman of Executive Trainers Limited, was it always your dream to be a business man even from childhood?

    I am the Chairman of Executive Trainers. My wife is the Chief Executive Officer. Yes, it’s been my dream to be a businessman from childhood.

    What influences in your immediate environment gave way to you in business and gave you your desired future?

    My parents were the greatest influence I had in choosing business as a career. My father was an aeronautical engineer with the defunct Nigeria Airways. He lived purely on salary which most times did not sustain us in the family. So my mother decided to go into business to support my father. That helped us to pull through a bit. The business I’m talking about was a very small scale one, which could not sustain us all through. While in the secondary school, I had to venture into a tutorial coaching business to support my family. I also ventured into selling of kerosene and drawing sheets for my fellow students when I was on campus. These experiences contributed to my passion to go into business in a large scale, which I am doing by the grace of God today.

    How about your educational background?

    I started my educational career at Ibido Primary School in Agege, Lagos. I later attended  St. Joseph Secondary School at Idi Mangoro, Agege and later  Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti . I later graduated from the prestigious Yaba College of Technology. I studied Business Administration and Management. I had my postgraduate study at the Peugeot Postgraduate Training School. I have attended capacity building courses and programmes at Harvard Business School; Brunel University UK; Oxford Brookes University UK; University of Wolverhampton U.K.; Management Development Insttitute of Singapore;  Georgetown University US; University of Houston US, Stellenbosch University South Africa; Zayed University in DUBAI; American University of DUBAI; Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and many more.

    Why did you choose to invest in the educational sector? And are you into other businesses?

    I did not just choose education; I concentrated on higher education because of the years of neglect of that area in the educational sector as a whole. We have a lot of private interventions in the elementary and secondary education in Nigeria with capacity building efforts for their workforce. That is lacking in the higher education. So, we started Executive Trainers 10 years go to train the trainers, to teach the teachers and to lecture the lecturers.

    You travel quite a handful of times, what are some of the things that you have learnt from your trips that you can share with us?

    My business interests require constant travels within and outside Nigeria. I hardly travel for pleasures; my travels are strictly for business. Traveling by air for example affords me the opportunity to appreciate God for His awesome and creative powers. He is a mighty God. The works of His hands are better appreciated when you are up in the sky. It’s also a time to appreciate other nations and see how to make ours better. It’s always a time to fellowship with my Creator, to meet new people and strike new deals. I am also into automobiles sales and services with specific interest in Peugeot vehicles.

    Is there any way TETFUND can do better?

    Improving on funding for higher education is not the problem in the recent times, rather the judicious use of the allocated funds for education in Nigeria. Having said that, I will plead with our government still at all levels to prioritize education in all the budgetary processes and spending. The chief executives of all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria should also look inwards and evolve strategies for internally generated revenues.

  • Pastor: my wife can abuse even a ghost

    A pastor,  Paul Dawodu, yesterday asked an Ikorodu Customary Court  to dissolve his 18-year-old marriage to  Adijat for her alleged abusive behaviour.

    The petitioner sought the dissolution of the marriage because his wife is quarrelsome and usually curses people.

    Dawodu, 48, who lives at Ogalami Street, Ikorodu, said the respondent fought a lot and did not take corrections.

    “My wife finds joy in abusing and cursing fellow human beings; she can abuse even a ghost and she fights me regularly.

    “I have tried coping with her for years but I can’t anymore.

    “She no longer lives with me as she deserted the house 12 months ago. She reported me to the Human Rights Commission and accused me of irresponsibility.

    “She still went to abuse the people at the commission’s office recently, where I was ordered to pay the children’s feeding allowance through them,’’ he said.

    Dawodu prayed the court to dissolve the marriage and award the custody of the couple’s  four children to him.

    Denying the claims, Adijat, a trader, said her husband was not telling the truth.

    The 38-year-old third wife to the pastor said : “All that my husband said is not true; I only fought them at human rights office when they refused to give me my children’s feeding allowance which my husband drops monthly.

    “Help me to beg him; I still want to be his wife,” she prayed the court.

    The court’s  President , Mrs

  • JOHN OGU: Why I proposed to my wife on the pitch

    JOHN OGU: Why I proposed to my wife on the pitch

    Nigeria and Hapoel Be’er Sheva playmaker, John Ogu, made the biggest media headline not playing football for club or country. He got the attention of reknown cable networks, among them CNN, when he popped the ‘Will You Marry Me?’ question to his fiancée two years ago.

    Joined by his teammates after a memorable 5-2 league win, on the pitch, Ogu said he popped the question to a stunned Ada (now Ada Ogu) who covered her face while trying to fight back happy tears before thousands of Hapoel Be’er Sheva fans.

    Hear him:  “The credit really should go to my brother and friend, Anthony Nwakeame. We were in the dressing room and I asked him how best to propose to my wife. My idea was to pop the question at a restaurant during lunch or dinner.

    “But he told me that since we were playing the next day, I should speak to management and pop the question after the game in full glare of the fans. Right there, I spoke with the director and he said I could do it after the game. I was scared because I thought we might lose and we won’t be in a happy mood. But I accepted.

    “We won the game 5-2 and to my biggest surprise, the fans did not leave the stadium and my fiancée came forward and I went on my knees and popped the question. It was the finest moment of my life and my teammates and fans celebrated with us for hours.

    “My wife was pleasantly surprised too. Later, I received calls from my friends all over the world who saw it on television and even on CNN,” Ogu stated as he speaks more about is wife whom he calls his ‘best coach’ as well as his loving daughter in this interview with TAIWO ALIMI. Excerpts…

    Family life

    My wife is the greatest thing to happen to me. I remember how I proposed to her vividly because it was after a match. Her name is Ada Ogu and we have a daughter that I love very much. My wife is today my best coach. She watches all my matches and criticises me afterwards for what I did not do well. She is also passionate about the sport.

    As for my daughter, I don’t think I would like her to play football. Personally, I think football is too physical for women. My apology to all female footballers because I feel it’s meant for men. This is not to disparage ladies playing football. Her mum would like her to play tennis while I would like it if she plays basketball. But if she chooses football, I won’t stop her. I will not if it is her choice.

    Sunny side of Ogu

    I watch football and highlight of games whenever I want to relax. Football is my life and even when I’m relaxing I’m watching football. I watch football a lot. I watch past games and the best way for me to relax is to watch football. When I am tired I slot in a football tape and I feel energised. Football is it for me. I also like basketball.

    I used to see myself as a banker. But football just killed everything. If I wasn’t playing football I probably would see myself as a manager of a big bank in Nigeria.

    Pressure from family and friends

    I feel that very much. I understand that the country is hard and things are really tough. Even the young and coming players are too desperate and they often come at you begging for money. They can really be on your face and it is scary at times. When I was on the street playing football, it was tight too and sometimes it was so bad that I would steal my mum’s money to go to match venues. Sometimes I got transport fare from my coach, but the dimension that people go to now is even scary. I feel the pressure and I always do my best to help out.

    Formative years

    Like every other footballer, especially in this part of the world, I started from the street. I imbibed football passion from the street. We would move from our street to the next and to far ones while playing football and from there the passion just grew. God blessed me with a talent that could not be hidden and I have to show it to the whole world.

    Youth career

    It was at Starlet FC that I learnt all I needed to know about football as a teenager. It was here that I learnt the basis of football, how to kick the ball and a lot of other things that I needed to know as a kid. There are two coaches that I would never forget; Coach Atta, who hails from Calabar, the South South of the country, taught me the rudiment of the game while Coach Baresi (not real name) taught me that how to be disciplined and respect other players.

    We used to go to competitions where we played other teams and that helped me a lot. It was there that I met an ex-international who offered to help me go abroad. I spent some months in his camp and from there they arranged for me to travel to Europe and that is how I started my professional career. From there I moved to Portugal and was in Portugal for three seasons before I moved to Israel where I am today.

    Parental support

    To be honest, it wasn’t difficult to convince my parents to allow me go out play football. My dad and mom supported me fully and not once did they stop me from exhibiting this God given gift. But, again I knew this is what I wanted to do in my life right from my young age and all I needed to do was to know how badly I needed to do it. I’m lucky to have parents that gave me free hand and supported me. It is not all parents that do that but mine gave me more than 100 per cent support and thanks to them for it.

    Portugal experience

    The experience in Portugal was not devoid of bitter taste because it was my first real professional experience. There were tough moments and I remember that at a point my team played a match with eight players because we had to go without salary for four, five months.

    At that time, some players could not even sign their contract. But my agent had told me that I should be patient and that I would move out soon. It was a tough time but I learnt a lesson that defined me and would help me to face the future like a true winner.  For me, I had a contract with them and my agent said I should play and whenever I chose to move they would allow me leave as free agent.

    I decided to stay and play and in a particular match we played eight players against 10. It was a tough match for us but the experience toughened me. I know it happened for a reason and it is in my past now.

    Nigerian league

    I did not play in the Nigerian league before going abroad. But I would like to experience it before I end my career. I will come back home to play for a team in Nigeria. I think it is high time that we promoted our league. If you watch Brazilian players, they go back to their home country at a point in their career and play there.

    It is a way to give back and grow the league. I would rather come back to Nigeria to play than to play abroad without getting paid. This is the time to appeal to our ex-players to give back and help grow the league in Nigeria. That would help bring back the sponsor and the fans into our stadium. I’m 100 per cent sure that I will come back to play in Nigeria.

    Toughest team and player ever played

    I’ve played a lot of players. When I am on the field I see every opponent as good and so I don’t underrate them. I’ve played against brilliant players such as Xavi and Pirlo and I respect them. But football is a team play and therefore I play for my team members and they play for me too.

    Most Cherished career moments

    It must be winning my first professional title in Israel and wining it the following year again. The back to back thing simply freaks me out. I do no imagine that that I would achieve this so soon in my career. I am really happy to play in Israel. Winning the league shield back to back is a special one for me.

    Most disappointed moment

    So far, it is missing the World Cup. I was part of the team that qualified Nigeria for the last World Cup but I had issues with my club and that affected me badly. I did not make the final list to the World Cup for that reason. I can still remember how it feels to date.

    Racial abuse

    I’ve not experienced racial abuse in my career. I don’t really pay attention to that kind of things. I am more focused on trying to prove myself and helping my team win games. I have not come across it in my career and s I don’t know how it feels. It is really a bad though.

    I can’t imagine being called a monkey because I have dark skin. The closest that I have experienced in Israel is for fans to chant when they feel you have dived in the box to gain a penalty for your team.

    Retirement plans

    I would love to coach one day but it is still a long time to come. It is something for the future. In five, six years, maybe I would begin to look into that. But what I would really like to do is football management.

    That is what I have passion for. I see myself like a director of a club.

  • ‘My wife is carrying another man’s pregnancy’

    ‘My wife is carrying another man’s pregnancy’

    Barely four years into his marriage, a Lagos businessman, Ismaila Ola, has asked a customary court to dissolve the union because his wife is pregnant for another man.

    Ola, 34,  is accusing his wife, Aminat of infidelity and attempts to kill him before   the Igando Customary Court.

    The petitioner alleged : “Aminat is cheating on me and she eventually got pregnant for her lover’’.

    He also accused Aminat of being fetish , noting that she always wanted to stab him during their frequent fights.

    “Aminat once brought a liquid substance home and forced me to use it. After drinking and bathing with it, my life became miserable, my business crumbled to the extent that I was begging to feed,” he said.

    He said Aminat hardly stayed at home, adding that “she goes to her parent’s house thrice a week and comes home late.

    “She once brought out a knife threatening to kill herself if I stopped her from visiting her mother. Please, dissolve this marriage. I have never had peace of mind since the day I married her,” Ola pleaded.

    Aminat, 24,  denied the allegations, saying she had never indulged in adultery.

    “I am not pregnant for any man. I have never cheated on my husband since the very day I married him.”

    She admitted that she had once threatened to kill Ola with  a knife.

    “I brought out a knife to defend myself when my husband brought out cutlass to machete me,” she said.

    Aminat also denied being fetish as alleged by her husband.

    She, however, accused Ola of infidelity, disclosing that he started dating another woman, barely two years after their marriage.

    The mother of one disclosed that Ola was always accusing her of having an affair with his brother.

    “Ismaila brought out a cutlass; made some incantations on it and gave it to me to swear that if I have had sex with his brother I should die within seven days which I did.”

    Aminat claimed that Ola  promised to send her to school before their marriage, but he reneged after the union.  ‘’Instead, he  enrolled me in dress making’’.

    She prayed  the court not to grant her husband’s request because she still  loves him.

    The court’s President, Mr Akin Akinniyi, ordered the couple to maintain peace.

    The case continues on March 6.

  • ‘I killed my wife because she starved me’

    ‘I killed my wife because she starved me’

    A 50-year-old man from Maigoge Village in Marita local government area has confessed to have killed his wife, Auta Tanko because she was starving him of food.

    Bamaiyi Tanko said out of anger of being starved after five days without food, he killed his wife with a cutlass while they were arguing.

    According to him, “My wife was fondof not giving me food in time and when I complain she will abuse me. She never gave me food each time I demand for it.

    “She even asked my 10-year-old daughter to abuse me because I’m asking for food and when I want to correct the girl she will abuse me.”

    Tanko was arrested by the police.

    Police spokesman, Peter Sunday who confirmed the arrest, said that the suspect used cutlass to kill his wife for failing to give him food, adding that the suspect threw the cutlass with which he used to kill her into a nearby river in his area.

    He said the suspect had confessed to the crime and the case has been charged to court.

    Tanko advised other men that are quick to anger to control themselves to avoid commuting such gruesome crime out of anger.

    “I am sorry, extremely sorry for what happened. It is the act of devil and I pray my in-laws will find a place in their hearts to forgive me. I regretted all my actions,” he said.

     

  • ‘I caught my wife, driver making love’

    A businessman, Moses Ojiekomhan, yesterday told an Ebute-Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, that he caught his wife, Joy, in bed with his driver Emeka Osuh, at their Lagos home.

    Ojiekomhan, the Managing Director of Legend Logistics and Integrated Concept Limited, Ikeja, stated this during Joy’s arraignment on a two count-charge of conspiracy and stealing.

    Joy pleaded not guilty.

    The mother of two, through her counsel Mr. J. Uwabuche, accused Ojiekomhan of abducting their 18-month-old baby.

    According to the police, in a charge marked G38/2017, last June 30 around 11:30am, Joy,  37, conspired with Osuh, who is now at large, to steal N1,136,400 belonging to Legend Logistics and Integrated Concept.

    According to prosecuting counsel, Mr. E. I. Onine, the alleged offences are contrary to and punishable under Sections 411 and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    Uwabuche, who urged the court to admit Joy to bail on liberal terms, said the matter was between husband and wife, and that reconciliation was ongoing between their family members.

    This was not opposed by Onine.

    Before her ruling, Chief Magistrate Helen Omisore turned to Ojiekomhan and sought confirmation of the duo’s relationship.

    Ojiekomhan replied: “We once lived together as husband and wife but we are now separated. They have charged me to court for child abduction. I caught Emeka, who is a driver in my company, sleeping with her in my house.”

    The prosecutor added that police investigation found that the two were once husband and wife, but separated after Ojiekomhan found Joy and Osuh in his bed.

    Uwabuche, however, pointed out that Ojiekomhan took away their 18-month-old baby from the defendant.

    “An Ogba Chief Magistrates’ Court, in Court 4, has even issued a warrant of arrest against him,” the defence counsel said.

    He stated that Joy’s arraignment was a ploy by the police to prevent her from appearing in court today to testify as a witness on the child abduction charge against him.

    Following the conflicting claims, Magistrate Omisore called for the case file, examined it, and ruled on the defendant’s bail.

    She said: “The defendant is hereby granted N500,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum. One of the sureties must be a relative to the defendant, have three years tax certificate payable to the Lagos State government. Both the home and office addresses of the sureties must be verified by the prosecutor.”

    The case continues on September 27.

  • ‘My wife prayed against my CAN presidency bid’

    ‘My wife prayed against my CAN presidency bid’

    The newly-installed President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev (Dr) Supo Ayokunle, sat down for over an hour last week in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State with selected journalists to discuss issues affecting Christiandom and the nation. Sunday Oguntola was there. Excerpts: 

    HOW does it feel like being the president of CAN?
    By the grace of God, it’s a privilege and it’s also a divine mandate. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is not the only organisation which the Nigerian Baptist Convention belongs. I’m just back from the Central Working Committee meeting of the World Council of Churches in Norway from there I moved to Vancouver in Canada where we had the annual congress of the Baptist World Alliance.
    However, for the Baptist, for the past almost 177 years of our existence here in Nigeria, none of our leaders was given the privilege of serving at this level. We have served at state levels, as General Secretary of Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), which of course came on board before CAN.
    But at this level, we have never served. Though I’ve also served as the National Vice President of Christian Association of Nigeria, this is a different ball game all together. I say it’s a privilege for all Christians to be able to agree on one person to serve and also a divine mandate because I didn’t just plunge into it.
    How did it all start for you?
    I think the whole thing started in October last year. I was in Houston, Texas with my wife to rest from all the troubles when I saw a vision. I saw CAN election going on. I saw a bloc (I will not mention the name) voting en-masse for me. And I was asking one of their leaders why they were voting for me when I am not from that bloc.
    Then I woke up. Then I woke my wife up and told her what I saw. My wife said I should just forget about CAN presidency that I will never participate and it will never be because she doesn’t want trouble for me. It was almost a fight. I told her I didn’t know I would dream and I was only sharing what I saw. She said I should just forget about it that she and her prayer team have prayed it off.
    I told her if it was human desire, you can pray it off but if it is God communicating His mind to us ahead of time, you can’t pray it off. I told her not to be emotional about it. She was not convinced but she was convinced that we must pray. So we set up a prayer team and we really prayed over it but I decided that I will not help the situation that I was just going to see how it will come to pass.
    So we went to meeting and they announced the submission of names. I didn’t take any action. I have an ecumenical officer here in the office who had been troubling me saying even if I was not going for presidency, I was qualified to run for a second term as vice president.
    He said I should submit my name. I said I was praying about it. When he saw that I was using delay tactics and the closing date was around, he went ahead and wrote the application and put my name. He showed it to one of my lieutenants – Vice President Finance and Investments. They didn’t tell me they submitted it because they feared that I may stop them from submitting it so that if they had submitted and it had been accepted over there, it would be beyond me. So it was after they accepted it at CCN bloc and it was forwarded to CAN that he came to ask me if I was not still going to apply again.
    I told him I was still praying about it and he said they have submitted my name. That was another thing that almost caused feud between us. So I said if he wanted to kill me that was how he was going to go about it without me knowing. And he said no, this was not about killing but they were convinced that I have something to offer but I was reluctant.
    So we started praying and I was looking for how it was going to come to pass. And the rest is history now.
    Should we call you a reluctant CAN president?
    I fear failure a lot. So it’s better not to start at all than to fail. You know I have a big assignment here. The Nigerian Baptist Convention is a monster organisation. We are in several mediums and we have over 15,000 churches which I now pastor. For me, we have 10 seminaries where I am a visitor. We have a university which I am a visitor.
    We have a printing press, which is a registered company. We have a bookstore. When I see the combination of all these, for me to supervise all these things and still be combining CAN with it is intimidating. So the reluctance was out of the fear of failure.
    When you have too many things in your mouth to chew, you will end up spewing everything out. If you go back memory lane, men that God used were reluctant ministers. Moses argued with God to the extent that when God gave him conviction for all what he was asking, he concluded by telling God to send another person.
    Are you saying that you are prepared to offer what it takes considering the enormity of the job, especially considering you also serve at the World Council of Churches (WCC)?
    I’m a member of executive of World Council of Churches (WCC). I’m also a member of the Central Working Committee which is the highest decision- making body for the organisation. Being in leadership does not mean that you are there alone. Leadership is teamwork.
    If you see yourself as a four-man, you are going to destroy yourself; you will be living in a fool’s paradise. You can never be a four-man, you are only one man. But you can manage the resources around you. Here in Nigeria, the Baptist Convention has got a splendid system whereby the president of the convention is not standing alone.
    I have three assistants. I have the vice president ministerial who is an accredited theologian with his doctor of philosophy in theology. There’s nothing I can do that he cannot do except that he is not president here. He is there to assist me whenever I’m not available. I have a vice president administration and human resources, who is also an accredited theologian and an accredited administrator.
    I have the vice president finance and investments, who has a doctorate in theology and is also a chartered accountant. And I also have directors, accredited theologians with PhDs in different fields. So if I have all these around me and I’m dying from too much work, then I must be a fool.
    God has put me in the midst of abundant resources to be able to harness for effectiveness. I left the shores of Nigeria since June 20th to come back around July 15th and nothing is amiss here because I have capable hands. Some of these international meetings, I delegate them; I give them letter to empower them to attend. Especially in the Baptist setting, we are Congregationalists.
    We believe in the congregation being active and taking decisions. I am the president here but what I do here is to carry out what the congregation has decided over. So we don’t operate like some founder churches where you just dictate what you want to do. You have to discuss things; you have to assign people to implement them. It is the same thing with CAN. CAN has a vice president. It also has about six directors. Before I left Abuja yesterday, I met with the staff to let them know what we are doing and for me to also know what they are facing as problems that may hinder their work.
    The major challenge your immediate predecessor faced was from within. How are you going to tackle this, considering the tension in the heat up to your election?
    Before now, I’ve travelled far and wide within the nation seeing people that mattered within CAN, mending fences. If I didn’t do that, the inauguration wouldn’t have been possible. We met with the ex-presidents of CAN. The angry people presented their position.
    Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor presented the position of CAN and when they listened, they were convinced that election passed through due process. CAN is a body of Christ and anyone that is aggrieved is maybe because he is losing out in one way or the other. So we should not allow the sun to go down upon our anger. I may not be able to say much about that because of the court case. But people in court and people outside court, we are meeting them.
    The reconciliation is on-going even before the inauguration. And it was that reconciliation process that made the inauguration possible otherwise it might have not been possible. We need all of them. A house divided against itself cannot stand. So what we are saying is that the enemies we have outside are more for us to face.
    They are so many than for us to still be having enemies within, especially the onslaught that appears to be coming from other religions in this nation. See how almost on weekly basis Christians are being slaughtered and it appears that nobody is caring.
    Our consternation is the attitude of the authorities to it. There is no real, specific statement to reassure. And as I said in my acceptance speech, they swore to the constitution to make sure that they defend us. We must have freedom to practice our religion.
    So if it is happening in the place we can call the centre of civilization, if somebody doing evangelism can just be killed like that, I don’t think we have heard much of a statement from the President over it. If only he cried out and said for what reason would that happen and order the Inspector General of Police to get the people responsible, it will be reassuring.
    But for him to be silent is very dangerous. That silence is not golden at that time. Speaking out, saying something will be reassuring. As I said, CAN is not anti-government and government should not be anti-CAN.
    But when we see that we are threatened, our lives are threatened and those who should defend us are not speaking out, it leaves much to desire. So it’s a trying time. It’s a very tough time but we are going to confront it headlong in the most lawful way; not confrontational but we are not going to be slack in our responsibilities to make all of you, whether Christian or Muslims, to be able to enjoy your lifetime. It’s very important.
    Since we are officially in a recession, what will be your advice to church leaders to help their members go through these hard times?
    Somebody has written that tough times never last but tough people do. Patience is golden also. Blessed are people who endure tribulations and trials. It’s a trying time. So I don’t want people to give up. Let them trust in God who provided for over 600,000 people in the wilderness for 40 years without cultivating any land.
    The Lord that made manna to fall can still repeat that feat. The bible says He is able to do more exceedingly abundantly than we have asked for or thought of according to that power that is at work in us. But we must release that power. It is a potential power; we need to make it a kinetic power. We have to release it and let it work. That is when we can see God at work in our lives.
    But much more, I would want to have a word for those in government; if this government continues to pass alibi and be saying someone else caused this and that, is it not because we knew what they caused we voted them into power and hoped that you would restore things?
    If they caused it and it wasn’t as bad as this for people who caused it, then why should it be immediately after they left that within one year it will be so bad? I think part of the way to handle this matter is also to know that if the economic experts they have set up are unproductive, they need to change hands.
    Is that the best Minister of Finance you can have? If things are not happening by all the formulas, as Wole Soyinka said before, let them call a meeting of financial experts to proffer solution to the problems on ground. If Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, then we must be able to see the impact of that.
    Before the other ones left, Nigeria was rated the largest economy. Why are we now at the bottom of the ladder within just a year? Something is wrong. So we are so glad with this government that they are fighting corruption. We also want that corruption to be fought beyond political lineages. Let it be broad enough so that when we finish dealing with corruption, we know that we have overcome an obstacle and it will not still be hiding somewhere.
    We are so glad. They should remain undeterred in fighting corruption but while fighting corruption, the Pareto theory or principle should be considered. I think Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo suggested this to the President before. The theory says use 20 percent of your energy to fight the 80 percent that are corrupt. Use the remaining 80 percent of your time to focus on the 20 percent that are not corrupt so that they will not die of hunger before you finish chasing the 20 percent.
    People are dying. My wife has not collected pension because she’s retired. The people working have not collected salary for six to seven to eight months. It never happened like this before in Nigeria, no matter how bad it might be. Not even under the military. So there’s something wrong.
    There was a ruling in Osun State allowing female Muslim students to attend public schools in hijab. Few days ago, there was another ruling by the Appeal Court in Lagos in the same direction. What would be the reaction of CAN to this?
    I am worried too. Because there is a difference between what the law says and what common sense says in terms of peaceful coexistence. By the time the Christian students were wearing their own religious uniforms, why should anybody pick on that? Is it not the same thing that the court approved for Muslim students?
    What is good for the goose is it not good for the gander? That judgement has already opened the door for religious uniforms to be worn to schools. It’s logical. That’s the logic. We are not against Muslim students wearing hijabs but nobody should be against our own children from wearing our own uniforms to schools as well because it is their own fundamental human right.
    When you are in such a situation, you are in fighting confusion. I don’t know the way in which the uniform we wear will make you more brilliant or dull except for religious extremism. In what way has the religious dress added to brilliance in school?
    My brilliance has to depend on my individual ability and the quality of teaching of the teachers. I think I read education to Masters Level in the university and I taught before. We are not against the Muslim students wearing their religious dress but when you see our students put on their own, why does that one give you trouble?
    Why shouldn’t anyone who is a governor be crying for that? The court has already affirmed it when it declared the students have the right to wear their hijabs. Are they the only ones with fundamental human rights?
    The argument is that the Christians kept quiet when Muslims went about the case in court only for them to be shouting wolf after the verdict…
    We are not crying wolf. We are implementing the judgement. I don’t know the logic of people. How do they think? Maybe God used the Muslims to win the battle for the rest of us that religious people have the right to wear religious dresses to school. That is what that judgement just says.
    Go and look for brilliant lawyers that can interpret that for you. And I want somebody on the point of law to show me where I am wrong. That judgement just opened the door of liberty that whatsoever may be the school uniform, you have the right to put your religious uniform on top of it. It’s not even for female students alone; it’s for all students because all students have their fundamental rights of religion. That’s the simple truth about it.
    When the Muslim students saw our students putting on their religious uniforms, they should not interpret it as if we are antagonising them. We are not antagonising them; we are telling them ‘thank you for using this case to give all the students liberty to wear their religious uniforms to schools’.
    Osun State governor has threatened to expel Christian students who put on their religious uniforms to school. What will CAN do in that circumstance?
    I have said it let him try it. Let him try it and he will know how people can shut down government. If he wants to kill, he will have so many people to kill. Let him try it. Whether it is only one set of religious students that have right and others don’t have. For me, I have said it that people at that level of management, they should not by their statement polarise the situation more than what was on ground before. What stops him from keeping quiet, than fuelling the situation?
    The hijab issue and the proposed new education curriculum make so many people believe that there is a plot or design to Islamise this nation. Are you of the same opinion and if yes, what will the Christian community do?
    Whether it’s Islamisation or not; there is a siege on Christianity in Nigeria, we can all see what is on ground. I’m not talking about belief; I’m talking about facts. There is a siege on Christianity. How can somebody say that he is doing a reform in the curriculum and change Christian doctrines and think that we will keep quiet?
    They will be teaching in that new educational curriculum that Jesus Christ is not the son of God. Is that Christian teaching? And you call it Christian Religious knowledge? Where did you bring that one from if you are not just provoking anger in other people? You want to be teaching that Jesus is not the son of God and that He did not die on the cross and that He did not rise from the death.
    What are you saying then? You are saying there’s nothing like Christianity. Is that education? Who drew it all? It can never see the light of the day. You know that CAN is already on it. We have our agents. I think some time ago before I travelled, I saw the government apologising over that and I need to commend the government for that that they knew that the curriculum was in bad taste.
    I think what the government ought to do is to do investigation on the people responsible for such a thing. If such person is still in the Nigeria Educational Review Council, that person should be queried and sanctioned. What was the intention for bringing that on board?
    I think the best thing is to dismiss that individual from service. He or she wants to set the nation on fire. If you see what is happening, Joseph Zechariah Kura, the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) pastor in Nassarawa state was butchered by the herdsmen.
    The following week, the woman in Abuja was killed. Somebody was not a Muslim. He wanted to eat in his shop in Kaduna but he was stabbed. The one in Kano, you were doing ablution in front of another woman’s shop and she stopped him. Is that even decent? She was just killed like that.
    A Catholic church opened for service in Niger State on Friday and you said Friday was specifically for you. Who told you that others should not worship God again on Friday except you? Don’t we see other religious adherents do their service on Sunday? Has anybody attacked them? And our authorities keep quiet as if nothing is happening. We will not allow them to rest until they speak out and do something. There is a siege. And when we are talking, it is not because we want to set the nation on fire but because we don’t want the nation to be on fire.
    Let there be mutual respect. We used to exist together mutually; it was not like this. Let’s return to that time because that’s what we are saying. When we will have Muslims and Christians in the same family and they were eating and dining together. Where has this type of spirit come from? I think it’s the spirit of end time placing a siege over Christianity.
    We are too many in this nation for somebody to think that they can overrun us in a day. As long as we live and as long as God gives us breathe, we will not allow anybody to force any religion on us.
    How prepared is the Christian body for this challenge?
    I don’t know how prepared you are. Some Christians, if not many, are naïve. They cannot see beyond their noses. And it is through interviews like these that we can awaken their consciences that danger is coming and you are feeling relaxed.
    I watched an animal documentary with two gazelles. The lion was lurking somewhere in the bush, watching as the two gazelles were fighting themselves. As they were fighting, the lion was moving closer and closer. By the time they realised their foolishness, he has attacked and got one down. Thank God the lions were not two; the second gazelle would have gone too.
    I think that is what we Christians are doing- very naïve. What they will be doing is to be attacking their leaders, no respect. I told the people when I was giving my acceptance speech, you now chose me to lead. Please pity me because leadership is a burden and you didn’t bring me down here to be ridiculing me on the pages of newspapers. You pay me no money, I’m receiving nothing. I’m here to defend the welfare of the church. Pity me, love me, don’t show me hatred.
    And I think other religious adherents in this nation are teaching us how to respect our leaders. Have you seen anybody opening mouths in the newspaper to bring down their leaders? Are their leaders saints? Are they angels? But we wash our own dirty linings in the public square with our holier- than- thou attitude. It’s naivety. I think I need to beg Christians to begin to respect our collectivity by respecting the people that we have put in positions.
    The last administration was very involved in rebuilding the lives of people affected by insurgency. What steps will you take to rebuild the churches in North East? How do you intend to tackle the fact that churches are not issued Certificate of Occupancy in several parts of the north till now?
    In terms of what Pastor Ayo has done, God gave that man resources and he spent it for the church. It is very difficult for you to have another Christian leader that can have that advantage and that type of spirit. I am coming from an established organisation. My organisation does not allow me to spend half kobo from collection unless what they have approved.
    And before the approval is given, it will pass through many tables. As an established organisation, you know that we have our own ministries to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), widows and so on that we attend to with several millions. We will do our best but you better not be comparing because areas of ministry differ.
    What I can assure you is that I will not keep my mouth shut until all the people who are passing through suffering and hard times and people who have been victims of insurgency have been properly taken care of either through CAN as a collectivity or through the government or through the non-governmental organisation.
    The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has been moribund for years. Will it be resuscitated in your tenure?
    Mine is to look at what happened. I have told the national secretariat to send letter to Sultan of Sokoto to inform him that we have a new administration on board, a new CAN president and I’ll take it up from there.
    What’s your position to the proposal for grazing reserves?
    We have shown our opposition to that. Ranches are better. Let the Fulani men who are professionals in cattle rearing, wherever they want to buy land, let them take money from their pockets and buy it because they sell cows to us. So why should it be government buying lands for them? Will they buy lands for mechanics also? Are they going to buy lands for pastors to plant churches? They should not take our public funds to be buying lands for Fulani herdsmen. They are doing their private businesses. For me, they amputated the leg of my cousin in our village. When the girl was coming from the river, they met her and wanted to take her. She was running away, unfortunately she fell and they amputated the leg.
    Since that time, I will not allow Fulani herdsmen in my backyard. I cannot trust them any longer. So whoever wants to sell land for them in their backyard, if they can pay, let them sell it. But for me, it is not for now. Once bitten, twice shy. What wickedness to a harmless girl! They destroyed her life. The whole leg chopped off.
    In 2014, there was a national conference where serious recommendations were made towards restructuring of the nation. The new government says it will have nothing to do with such. How do you respond to this?
    How can you conclude that a document is not good when you have not seen the contents? Someone occupying such a position who is looking for the best solution to move us forward will not take that type of bias. You can’t condemn what you don’t know about. When a person makes a suggestion to me, if I have not tried it before, I cannot say it will not pay.