The Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network, a nongovernmental organisation, is teaming up with Fem Falana (SAN) Chambers to get justice for Adeola Onwukwe following the demand from her of N1 million by operatives of the Nigeria Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos State.
The demand, made last year by the policemen, made Adeola to break down weeping.
Adeola and her millionaire husband, Iyke Ikechukwu Onwukwe, aka Chief David, had a marital dispute, which caused the husband to forcibly collect their four children from her, 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, Onwukwe told his estranged wife that he was ready to spend naira and dollars from police stations down to the Courts to ensure that she would never get custody of the children.
Last year, when the case was taken to Ajiwe Police Station, the husband 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 aimed at protecting the children, allegedly beat Adeola and then even went with her husband to her matrimonial home to move out her property.
The husband has also accused 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.
Onwukwe had latched onto an Uber driver identified as Bright, working with the police, and dragged him 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 see the 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 N1 million 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, Ebenezer Omejalile, said the group and Femi 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.
Omejalile 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.
He 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.
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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 Onwukwe, discoveries showed that the then Divisional Police Officer was always taking reports back to Onwukwe.
When this unprofessional conduct was discovered, the ACVPN demanded the dismissal of the DPO.
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