Woman berates court’s ruling on custody of her children

A court battle between a designer, Caroline Oyekunle, and her husband, Olatunde, for the custody of her two children has ended in the latter’s favour, a situation, which the woman has described as unfortunate.

Caroline, an American and Project Director of Literacy Integration and Formal Education, said he was married to Olatunde before their marriage broke down irrevocably.

She had earlier filed a motion ex-parte, before a Lagos State High Court, through her lawyers, Elvira Salleras and Associate, demanding an unhindered access to her children aged six and two.

Caroline said the judge in a divorce suit between the couple, Justice Jumoke Pedro, had directed that counsel to the parties, should meet and discuss issues of custody and access to the children, but that this did not happen.

She explained that she was only allowed access to her children under the supervision of two nannies and a security guard.

But in his counter-affidavit filed in response to Caroline’s application for custody, Oyekunle, through his counsel, Funke Adekoya, told the court that Caroline was incapable of giving care to their children as she did not stay in the country at all times due to her participation in fashion exhibitions outside Nigeria.

The lawyer alleged that Caroline abandoned their children when she left their matrimonial home on July 8, 2016. He also stated that Caroline had access to the children on several occasions at social gatherings and at their grandmother’s home in Gbagada, Lagos and she was also said to have spent a couple of days with her children in August 2016, before travelling out of the country.

In his ruling, Justice A.M Lawal, had urged both parties to adhere to the earlier directive of Justice Pedro, stressing that rather than meet and report back to the court, the parties had decided to engage in argument instead of considering the best interest of their children at heart.

Caroline said the ruling had denied her opportunity to raise her children the way she sees fit.

She said, “I am shocked about the ruling today, which practically allows my children to be taken out of Nigeria without my consent. It is almost six months that Mr. Oyekunle and her family have consistently denied me access to my children notwithstanding my efforts.

“All I want is to be with my daughters and raise them the best way that I know. This is the wish of every mother; the essence why I am still living. Presently, my daughters are six and two years old. This is the stage they need me most. However,I have been unreasonably denied access to them for the past three months.”