The Nation Newspaper

Tag: paternity

  • Paternity fraud should be criminalised like rape, says Actor Salami

    Paternity fraud should be criminalised like rape, says Actor Salami

    Actor Rotimi Salami has argued that paternity fraud should receive the same measures and consequences as rape.

    He made this statement in a post on his Instagram page.

    Salami claimed that the emotional pain experienced by a man who discovers that the child he has been raising is not biologically related to him is comparable to the pain experienced by a woman who has been raped.

    Read Also: Court okays substituted service on Mohbad’s wife for DNA test

    He said that paternity fraud should be criminalized in the same way as rape.

    He also noted how rape is a major offence and wants paternity fraud to be one too.

    He posted: “Paternity fraud should be criminalized just like rape. The experience when raped is the same a man goes through when he finds out he’s been raising another man’s child. Damn!

    “Rape is a major offence. Paternity fraud should also be. None of these 2 should be encouraged. Men’s mental health too matters.”

  • On Kylian Mbappe’s paternity

    May the good Lord spare one from the offensive of one’s offspring. While some people enjoy the fruits of their misbegotten labour, others must endure the labours of their misbegotten fruits. While there are orphans who know their father, there are also fathers who know their orphans. It was said that when Karl Marx was brought back to the world a hundred years after to witness the revolutionary convulsions triggered by some of his intellectual descendants, the great bearded one cleared his throat and then intoned: “I thank God that I am not a Marxist”.

    It was said that on his deathbed, wracked by pains and miseries arising from huge swellings on his body, the greatest philosopher of the nineteenth century swore to make the much reviled bourgeois class pay for every one of the carbuncles that have turned life into an impossible torment. And how well did they pay for it!

    While joyous fans and soccer-mad aficionados were soaking up the wonders of the modern Russian city of Ekaterinburg, they might have forgotten a minor historical detail. It was here that the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas, and his entire family were horrifically done to death by furious revolutionary soldiers some months after the revolution.

    In the course of a long, event-suffused teaching career spanning the whole gamut of education from primary school, modern school, teacher training, polytechnic to the university, yours sincerely has collected quite a number of former students. One of these, a former two-term governor in a core northern state, was so miffed by snooper’s claim of being his former teacher that he stormed out to make an urgent phone call. Upon return, he was smiling sheepishly and apologetically.

    But of all these miserable descendants, none has been as unsparing, as unstinting and as hell-bent as a fellow columnist on this paper. Thirty five years after first encountering him as an impossibly bright but recalcitrant undergraduate, Olufemi Macaulay, a scion of the iconic Macaulay family, often barges into snooper’s office, just as he did then, to hone his literary skills and to engage in Socratic dialogue that pushes the English language to the edge of semantic impossibilities.

    It is quite a time-warp; as if time had stood still for this chap and his bemused former teacher. Nothing daunts the fellow, not even snooper’s occasional disobliging frown and stony glare. Macaulay saunters in like an infamous goblin, his face glowering with intellectual mischief and profane merry-making. Occasionally, this Okon-like creature would ask for a sip of his favourite beverage which he gulps down only to ask for an immediate refill, hinting that his spirit was low. The boy takes frightening liberty with a snooper well past his pugilistic prime.

    Last week, Macaulay was on top of his irreverent form as he barged into the office with intent, his face glowering with impish irreverence. He immediately fastened a discomfiting gaze on snooper’s cranium.

    “Sir, have you by any chance noticed a striking similarity between yourself and…..” the chap opened.

    “Between myself and whom?” snooper charged, cutting him dead in his track.

    “Ha, between yourself and Kylian Mbappe”, the fellow retorted with a mocking grimace.

    “And who is Mbappe?”snooper screamed pretending to be oblivious of the French teenage prodigy and new global soccer sensation. But Macaulay pressed on, ignoring his teacher.

    “I have studied the shape of your head, your complexion and your peculiar laugh and the evidence is overwhelming”, the chap insisted.

    “Which evidence? And which complexion?” snooper shouted, asking Macaulay to take his leave or face physical expulsion from the office. Macaulay loitered around, muttering some insensate nonsense about French leave and Dutch courage. Later that night, yours sincerely began arduous research into Mbappe’s background. Anybody would be proud to have such a gifted boy in the family. But it turned out that Mbappe is actually a product of Cameroonian and Algerian parentage.

    When this incontrovertible evidence was presented at an editorial gathering a few days later with the selfsame Macaulay maintaining a stony impassive silence, another impish fellow retorted that Mbappe actually has Yoruba names in addition to his baptismal name. Snooper quickly took his leave. To our relief, the CNN later showed a picture of Mbappe’s hometown with a cameo of his parents. Man pikin no be man pikin. May the good Lord save us from our abami and abamo children (monster and misbegotten) whose feet drag on the floor as you try piggy-backing them.

  • Civil servant ‘threatens to kill’ wife over son’s paternity

    A 47-year-old civil servant, Adeyemi Akande, has allegedly threatened to kill his wife, Olanike , over  the paternity of the son she claimed to have had for him.

    Akande, a resident of Alagbado, Lagos, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for alleged threat to life and assault.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Godwin Awase said the accused committed the offence on October 10 at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

    He said the accused beat and threatened to kill Olanike to reveal the true father of the boy.

    The prosecutor said the accused first refused to release money for a Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) test when Olanike asked.

    He said Olanike on her own released money for the DNA test.

    “When the result of the DNA finally came out, it showed that Àdeyemi was the biological father of the child but the accused threatened to kill her,’’ Awase said.

    The accused pleaded not guilty and was granted N50,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    Magistrate J.A Adigun ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and must present two years tax certificate to the Lagos State Government.

    The case was adjourned till January 4.

  • Davido snubs paternity report mess, promotes tour

    Davido snubs paternity report mess, promotes tour

    Following the success of his latest single, ‘IF’, hip hop artiste and record label boss, Davido, is set to go on a tour. Though he is yet to give details of the proposed tour, the artiste announced via his social media handles that he would be ‘hitting the road soon’.

    In a Saturday tweet, Davido hinted at Abuja being on the itinerary. ‘ABJ WAY let’s f..k up the city’, he wrote, attaching his picture to the tweet. On Sunday, the DMW boss provided more clues regarding his next move.

    ‘Hope y’all are enjoying the new music,’ he said, referring to ‘IF’, his latest single.

    ‘Number 1 song in Africa now … Getting the best results takes major practice and trust me, I have time for it ! let’s take Africa to the world. Hitting the road soon.’

    This tour is coming on the heels of his recent spat with a Nigerian daily over an article which alleged that the artiste is involved in another paternity mess.

    According to the report, an Ibadan-based girl, Ayotomide Enitan Labinjoh is claiming that Davido is the father of her daughter, Aanuoluwapo, despite a DNA test which ruled out Davido as biological father-.

    In several tweets over the weekend, Davido, who is expecting a second baby from US-based girlfriend, Amanda, dismissed the allegation and even threatened to sue the publication.

    Davido already has a daughter, Imade, from his first baby mama, Sophie Momodu.

  • 16 Ibru siblings in property, paternity battle

    16 Ibru siblings in property, paternity battle

    Five months after the death of frontline businessman Chief Olorogun Michael Ibru, 16 of his children are in a legal tussle over their paternity and his multi-billion naira assets.

    One of his sons, Oboden Ibru, has approached the Igbosere High Court, Lagos, for a declaration, among others, that he and his 15 other siblings are entitled to the estate of their father.

    In a counter-claim, one of the late Chief Ibru’s daughters, Janet Ibru, urged the court to declare that only persons whose paternity are confirmed by a diagnostics centre in the United States are entitled to an equal share of the estate.

    Oboden’s suit was filed February 8 by Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN) but has not been assigned to a Judge.

    The defendants are Oskar Ibru, Peter Ibru, Emmanuel Ibru, Gloria Ibru, Elaine Ibru-Mukoro, Elvina Ibru, Mamemo Ibru, Janet Ibru, Obaro Ibru, Vivi Ibru-Stankov, Edesiri Ibru, Christiana Ibru, Jero Ibru, Vikwesiri Ibru, Gabriel Ibru and the Probate Registrar, High Court of Lagos State.

    The claimant is seeking an order declaring that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of January 2, 2001 is valid as to the distribution by way of gift of the late Ibru’s assets to both “Ovuone” and “Ivetu”.

    He asked the court to declare that the properties listed in the MOU belong in their entirety to “Ovuone” being gifted jointly and several times to “Ovuone” in the lifetime of the late Chief Ibru.

    Such properties include No. 1, Marine Road, Apapa, Lagos; 47, Marine Road, Apapa; 49, Marine Road, Apapa; 52, Marine Road, Apapa; 5,7,9 Emotan Road, Apapa; 3,5,7 Ladipo Oluwole, Apapa; Daska House; Blomfield Court; 33, Michael Ibru Boulevard; 6, Louis Solomon Close, Victoria Island, Lagos and 5/7, Queens Barracks Road, Lagos.

    Others are No. 20, Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos; 6, Kensington Park Gardens, London; Starcross Farm; Hillcrest Apartment; Zabadne Plot, Abuja; Maitama Plots, Abuja; Maroko Plots, Lagos; 7, Randle Close, Apapa, Lagos; all shares in Oceanic Bank; Oteri Holdings Limited’s shares in Minet Nigeria Limited; Oteri’s shares in Ibachem and the portion of Ibafon land occupied by Ibachem and Ovwian land.

    The claimant is also seeking a declaration that the judgment delivered by Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Lagos on April 17, 2014 remains valid and subsisting, having not been set aside by any court of competent jurisdiction.

    Oboden also asked for an order appointing himself, seventh defendant, Christiana, first defendant, Oskar and eighth defendant, Jero, as administrators of the Ibru estate and an order directing them to apply to the 16th defendant for the grant of letters of administration for the estate.

    An order of the court appointing Messrs. PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited to conduct a forensic audit of the shareholdings and assets, whether real or personal, belonging to the estate of the late Ibru in Oteri Holdings and any other company in Nigeria or anywhere such may be located, discovered or found in the world and submit such report to the Registrar of the court within 90 days of the order and the cost of such exercise be paid by the administrators so appointed herein.

    The claimant is seeking an order directing the administrators to divide the assets into 16 equal shares and that same be given to all the 16 surviving children of the late Ibru.

    But in a counter-claim, eighth defendant Janet urged the court to declare that all matters pertaining to the estate be adjudicated in Nigeria as well as a declaration that she is entitled to a refund of all expenses, including the $48,000 incurred by her in defending the law suits of the second defendant.

    Furthermore, she is seeking an order of the court directing the administrators of the estate of the late Ibru to refund to her, the expenses incurred in taking care of the late Ibru during the final year of his life.

  • Brad Pitt still troubled over paternity crisis

    Brad Pitt still troubled over paternity crisis

    Hollywood actor Brad Pitt is still having visitation issues with his kids after separation from spouse Angelina Jolie.

    Reports say the actor was recently heartbroken as Jolie ‘cuts him’ out of children’s life against his wish to visit constantly and be active in the lives of the kids.

    The couple’s split in September last year, after 12 years of marriage shocked the world. Jolie, 41, who cited irreconcilable differences, decided to end their marriage because she was “extremely upset” with the way the 53-year-old star was parenting the kids. Thus, she decided to seek joint legal custody, but not joint physical custody.

    While the father-of-six continues weekly supervised visits of 5-hour with his children, he is worried that Jolie could be cutting him out of their children’s lives.

    The estranged couple had agreed to a temporary custody agreement according to which, the Allied actor will be visiting his children in the presence of a therapist, but reports suggest that there has been some conflict regarding the frequency of the visits.

    “As far as Brad is concerned, Angelina is doing everything in her power to keep the kids away from him, and it’s breaking his heart. Brad’s really concerned Angelina is poisoning the boys against him, and they are becoming more and more distant towards him with each passing day,” a source told HollywoodLife.

    Meanwhile, as the couple is still finalizing their divorce, there are rumors that the actress plans to involve the actor’s ex, Jennifer Aniston, in court hearings.

    Since Pitt and Aniston were in a relationship for quite some time, Jolie allegedly wants to ask the actress to testify against Pitt and to expose his history with drugs and alcohol.

    A celebrity divorce attorney, Raoul Felder, who recently weighed in on Pitt and Jolie’s ongoing divorce told Radar Online that Pitt is at the losing end. “Brad was in an impossible situation. No matter what happened, there was nothing positive in it for him. The charges that have been made against him may or may not be based on facts. We still don’t know – and Angelina’s played him like a violin,” he said.

    In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jolie’s lawyer Laura Wasser says Pitt has seen his younger kids at least once a week since Oct. 8. And per their voluntary custody agreement, a therapist has been present at each visit.

    “The frequency and duration of these visits have been determined by the minor children’s therapist, who were put in place jointly by parties immediately after the Sept. 14 incident.”

    The papers also state that weekly visits of “five hours each” have been scheduled through the end of January.

    “His visits may increase at any time based on the therapists’ evaluation of each child’s feelings and progress,” state the documents.

  • ‘Why Lagos grants paternity, maternity leave to workers’

    ‘Why Lagos grants paternity, maternity leave to workers’

    THE Lagos State government has explained why it institutionalised maternity and paternity leave for the parents of the first two babies given birth to by its female and male employees.

    “It is part of government’s intervention aimed at addressing the adverse effects of maternal deprivation among families in the Centre of Excellence”, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Modele Osunkiyesi has said.

    She spoke at the Annual Faculty Day Lecture of the Faculty of Public Health, National Post-graduate Medical College of Nigeria, Ijanikin, Lagos.

    The Permanent Secretary noted that the implementation of the paternity and maternity leave was premised on research findings on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and bonding.

    Her words: “In full realisation of the public health burden of maternal deprivation on child health and mental health, Lagos State Government has designed relevant policies and programmes which address the promotion of family support activities.

    “The government, is determined to protect, promote and restore the health of Lagosians and facilitate their unfettered access to quality health care services without financial or other barriers. As stated in its development plan (LSDP) 2012-2025, the state hopes to reduce the prevalence and burden of socio-cultural pathologies arising from maternal deprivation.

    “The government is committed to the establishment of skills and empowerment centres for youths and the vulnerable. It will also implement the Child Rights’ and Adoption Laws through the Ministries of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and Youths, Sports and Social Development. This will help in alleviating the negative effects of psycho-social problems caused by maternal deprivation.”

    Mrs. Osunkiyesi noted that the topic of the annual lecture, entitled “Maternal Deprivation: A Socio-Cultural Pathology” is intriguing and bears direct relevance to contemporary socio-cultural issues in Nigeria.

    She added that maternal deprivation due to death, illness and abandonment results in acute anxiety, depression and character instability. These  result from emerging psycho-social issues such as rape, crime, suicides and suicidal attempts, juvenile delinquency, emotional difficulties and anti-social behaviour, adversely affect the livability of our cities.

    “The topic should also be viewed from the perspective of dysfunctional childhood development and the pivotal roles mothers or primary care-givers play in achieving optimal socialisation of their children or wards,” she said.

    She further explained that the term “maternal deprivation” is a catchy-phrase which summarises the life-long research of a psychiatrist and psycho-analyst; John Bowlby on the effects of separating infants and young children from their mothers or mother substitutes.

    She added that the psychiatrists and psycho-analysts have postulated that the relationship between the infant and its mother during the first two years of a child’s life are the most critical time for bonding.

    Osunkiyesi noted that infants and children must form close relationships with a single primary care-giver for healthy development, adding that in most cases, the attachment is with the mother.

    According to her, the strategies and programmes geared towards reducing the prevalence and burden of socio- cultural pathologies arising from maternal deprivation must be evidence-based, explaining that maternal deprivation which may be either physical or emotional could be due to death, illness or abandonment.

    Besides, it could also be as mild as in trusted foster homes, partial; where mother or mother substitute was unable to provide the required loving care, or complete; as in crèches, hospitals and other institutions.

    Mrs. Osunkiyesi posited that children who are cared for physically but lack social interaction and physical contact with their primary care-giver often exhibit many of the same symptoms as children who have been denied contact altogether.

    She noted that the deleterious effects of maternal deprivation range from acute anxiety, depression and character instability to crippled capacity for relationships; adding that, as teenagers and adults, individuals suffering from maternal deprivation can be more aggressive, display emotion-affective psychopathy and more prone to depression.

    The Guest lecturer, Prof. Adefunke Oyemade listed that the long-term consequences of maternal deprivation as delinquency, reduced intelligence with resultant poor scholastic performance and inability to show affection or concern for others.

    She stated that prolonged deprivation beginning early in life and lasting for as long as three years usually has serious adverse effects on physical, mental and social development, stressing that the effects may be reversed if relief from deprivation is instituted early enough.

    The guest lecturer pointed out that many mothers can hardly fulfill children’s need for love, understanding; patience, consistency for fairness, good and companionship because of their numerous social obligations and gainful employment which takes them outside their homes.

    “Deprivation is not an inevitable result of mother-child separation. It may occur in the presence of the mother and may be relieved in her absence. It is evident that deprived children in institutions have not the same opportunities as those living in their own homes. Supportive measure to families should aim to reduce number placed in institutions,” she said.