A judge of the Delta State High Court, Anthony Okorodas, has cried out
after he allegedly discovered that three children he had with his
ex-wife were not his biological offspring.
According to the judge in the statement, his former wife, Celia Juliet
Ototo, walked away from the marriage when the youngest child, now 17
years old, was just six.
He said he was first notified of the paternity fraud by an anonymous
source, saying the repulsive act of Celia prompted him to conduct DNA
tests on all his children.
Okorodu described the development as traumatic, saying he and his
current wife had been wholly responsible for the well-being and
education of the three children, two of whom are university
undergraduates, since their mother walked away 11 years ago.
The statement read in full, “I have taken the decision to address the
press in respect of certain traumatic developments that have arisen
between me and my ex-wife, Barrister Celia Juliet Ototo, of the Ototo
Family of Ovom in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. It is
now nearly 11 years since our separation and divorce. This press
statement is important in order to prevent damaging speculations, half-
truths and outright lies from persons who may want to cash in on the
tragedy that has befallen my home.
“Sometime during the coronavirus lockdown early last year, I received
information from an anonymous source that indicated that the last of the
three children from my previous marriage was in fact not my biological
child. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions at the time, I had to wait until
August 2020 to carry out a DNA test. The DNA test result which came out
in September 2020 confirmed that I was not the biological father of the
child.
“Consequently, I convened a joint meeting between my extended family on
the one side, and Celia’s paternal and maternal families (i.e., the
Ototo Family of Ovom Town and the Agbagidi Family of Yenagoa Town) on
the other side, where I confronted her with the paternity fraud
allegation. Although she initially strongly insisted that I was the
biological father, she has since confessed to having the child with
another man during the course of our marriage.
“This repulsive act of my ex-wife prompted me to conduct DNA tests in
respect of the two other children. A few days ago, the results came out.
Sadly, none of them is my biological child.
“This abomination has caused excruciating mental trauma to me, my
present wife, Barrister (Mrs) Ebi Okorodas, and all of the innocent
children involved.”
The judge said that following the development, his current wife had to
agree to having DNA tests on the four children of our own marriage.
He added, “This is particularly so for Ebi, who has had to agree to
having DNA tests on the four children of our own marriage. Thankfully,
the test results confirm each of them to be my biological child.
“It is important to state that Celia walked away from the marriage when
her youngest child (who is now 17 years of age) was just 6 years old.
Since then, all of her children have lived with my wife, Ebi and I, and
we have been wholly responsible for their well-being and education.
Friends who are close to my family would readily attest to the fact that
unless specifically informed, no one could tell that the children were
not the biological children of my present wife.
“Ebi and I would continue to support the children in any way that we
can. Indeed, even after the release of the first DNA test result which
proved that I was not the biological father of the last child, we have
continued to pay for his education in a private boarding school. The two
other children are university undergraduates. The first, a female, will
be a graduate later this year, and the second will soon enter his 4th
year of study. We pray for them to overcome the trauma and become
responsible citizens of our country.
“For Celia and her boyfriend or boyfriends, we leave them to their
conscience. Thank you very much.”
Last month, the social media was awash with allegations that Adam Nuru,
Managing Director of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), had an affair with
Moyo Thomas, a former employee of the bank, resulting in the death of
Tunde Thomas, her husband.
A petition initiated by the deceased’s friends had claimed that Tunde
died of depression after discovering that his supposed two children with
Moyo belong to the FCMB MD.
It also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sack Nuru, while
demanding a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
They claimed that Tunde was down with a stroke but later recovered and
thereafter met another lady whom he planned to marry.
He was, however, said to have died two days before his introduction to
the family of his already pregnant girlfriend.