Juliana Francis
The Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network (ACVPN), a non-governmental organisation is teaming up with Femi Falana (SAN) Chambers to get justice for Mrs Adeola Onwukwe, after police at FCID Alagbon allegedly demanded N1000,000 to facilitate her case.
Following the demand, which was made last year, Adeola had broken down and wept, pondering and wondering where and how on earth she would be able to get such an amount of money.
Adeola and her millionaire husband, Mr Iyke Ikechukwu Onwukwe aka Chief David, had a marital dispute, which caused the husband to forcibly collect their four children from Adeola, relocate out of Lagos and remarry.
The husband went with the children, knowing fully well that his actions were against the Child Rights Law.
According to the law, since the eldest child is 10 years old and the youngest is two years old, the children are supposed to be with their mom.
Incidentally, the man told his estranged wife that he was ready to spend naira and dollars, from police stations down to the Courts to ensure that Adeola would never get custody of the children.
Earlier last year, when the case was taken to Ajiwe Police Station, the husband had made good his threats, by allegedly using his money to compromise the case.
The police, rather than follow the law as enshrined in the Child Rights Law, and aimed at protecting the children, had allegedly beaten Adeola and then even went with her husband to her matrimonial to move out her property.
The husband has also alleged Adeola of infidelity, claiming that was his grounds for forsaking the marriage and taking custody of the children.
However, Adeola, while denying having affairs with anyone, insisted that accusations of affairs by her husband had been her constant nightmare while the marriage lasted.
Ikechukwu had latched onto an Uber driver identified as Bright, working with the police, and dragged Bright to the police station, where he was tortured and forced to ‘confess’ while being recorded by police personnel that he had “carnal knowledge of Adeola.”
After his release, a petrified and traumatised Bright relocated out of Lagos State. He told this reporter that the husband of Adeola and the police threatened that they would come back for him if he “misbehaved.”
Adeola, a distraught mom, has been without her children for more than a year now and still counting.
She revealed that she was missing them so much and then travelled to Imo State, just to catch a glimpse of them, but her husband refused her a few minutes’ access to them.
Even when the village king and his mother tried to prevail on him to allow Adeola to see her children, he was alleged to have yelled at his mom.
Adeola: “He shouted at his mom. He is the last born in the family but he is the money bag and whatever he says goes. He doesn’t even listen to his elder brothers. The most painful part was that I heard the voices of my children, but he refused to allow me to see them. I just want to hold my children. Is it so wrong? He is even planning to take all my children overseas so that I wouldn’t be able to see them.”
Adeola explained that the N1m that the police demanded was for movement to Imo State, to arrest the husband and bring him and his children back to Lagos to answer to the law.
The co-founder of ACVPN, Mr Ebenezer Omejalile, said ACVPN and Falana Chamber will synergise to ensure that the law is adhered to, stressing that nobody should be above the law, no matter the person’s social status or perceived wealth in the society.
He also explained that a petition would be sent to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, to see how an arrest would be made in Imo State and the husband brought to Lagos, where the incident started, without Adeola being made to run from pillar to post, trying to raise unavailable money.
Omejalile said that there should be a way for the Lagos State Police Command and the Imo State Police Command to work together to ensure the children are retrieved and Ikechukwu arrested.
It should be noted that Adeola had repeatedly warned that her husband used to brag about having the Police in Imo State and other states in his pocket because of his stupendous wealth.
For instance, although Ajiwe Police Station denied beating Adeola and torturing Bright at the behest of Ikechukwu, discoveries showed that the then Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was always taking reports back to Ikechukwu.
When this unprofessional conduct was discovered, ACVPN demanded the dismissal of the DPO.
