A Customary Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Dawaki, Abuja, on Tuesday barred Adaobi Alagwu, the ex-mistress of business mogul and former chairman of the now-defunct Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni, from claiming to be his wife.
The court issued the pronouncement while delivering its ruling on the preliminary objection raised by the respondent (Alagwu) challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the petition filed by the petitioner (Ayeni).
Ayeni had prayed the court to stop Alagwu from using his name and to declare that they were never married. He also asked the court to rule that her daughter is not his.
In her objection, Alagwu argued that since Ayeni admitted in his testimony that he had a statutory marriage with his wife, Mrs. Abiola Ayeni, since 1994, his payment of dowry on her (Alagwu) constituted a criminal offense under the Marriage Act, which the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain.
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She, therefore, prayed the court to decline jurisdiction and dismiss Ayeni’s petition.
At the last sitting, Ayeni’s lawyer clarified that the case before the court was not about determining the statutory marriage between Ayeni and his wife but about declaring that no marriage existed between Ayeni and Alagwu following the return of a dowry paid out of ignorance of Alagwu’s native law and custom.
He also emphasised that the payment of the now-refunded dowry was never intended to establish a marriage.
During his testimony, Ayeni presented his marriage certificate as evidence to show that he is legally married to his wife, Mrs. Abiola Ayeni, and that he never married Adaobi.
The three-member panel of the customary court, in its ruling, held that contrary to Alagwu’s claim, there was no evidence that any marriage ever existed between her and Ayeni.
The court agreed with Ayeni that the case was not about the statutory marriage between him and his wife but about confirming that no marriage existed between him and Alagwu after the refund of the dowry he paid when he mistakenly believed she was pregnant for him.
The court further held that since Alagwu admitted in her preliminary objection that the dowry had been refunded, no additional evidence was required to conclude that no customary marriage existed between them.
The court also ruled that, contrary to Alagwu’s argument, the only person who could sue for bigamy under the Marriage Act is Ayeni’s actual wife, Mrs. Abiola Ayeni.
Having found that no form of marriage existed between Ayeni and Alagwu, the court ruled it lacked jurisdiction to consider the reliefs contained in Alagwu’s counterclaim and dismissed it.
“This suit succeeds only to the extent that no marriage exists between the parties,” the court ruled.
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