Senator Ned Nwoko has countered activist Omoyele Sowore’s claim that he married Regina Daniels at 17, insisting the allegation is false and presenting her voter card as evidence.
However, the lawmaker’s latest defence contradicts a statement he released on Monday, in which he said the actress, whom he claimed was born on 10 October 2000, married him at 19.
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In the Monday statement, issued by his Communication and Technical Action Team and circulated via the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), and published by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Nwoko insisted that “the public witnessed her family giving her away in marriage”.
It partly read: “For clarity, Regina Daniels was born on October 10, 2000. If she has been married for six years, that means she got married at 19, not 17. The public witnessed her family giving her away in marriage, and there were witnesses to the fact that her mother personally brought her to me. I never went after her.”
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Conflicting birth dates
But on Thursday, in a Facebook post on his official handle, he shifted his account, saying Regina had told him she was 21 when they first met and that her voter card confirmed her birth year as 1998.
He also said, “I have also seen a BBC interview where her mom granted after our marriage regarding her age.”
In the unearthed BBC interview, Rita Daniels, Regina’s mum clarified that her daughter was nearly 20 at the time of the wedding and defended Regina’s decision to marry young.
The conflicting accounts have deepened scrutiny over Regina’s age at her marriage, especially after the actress revealed that the 64-year-old lawmaker married her at 17.
Her disclosure came while responding to Mr Nwoko’s earlier claim that her family introduced her to drugs and sabotaged his efforts to get her help. Her revelation sparked widespread social media debate, with many Nigerians, including Mr Sowore, calling for an investigation and describing the alleged marriage to a minor as a criminal act.
Sowore alleges the use of fake documents
The controversy escalated on Wednesday when Mr Sowore, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), released what he described as fresh evidence supporting the claim that Regina was 17 at the time of the marriage.
He alleged that Mr Nwoko used a fake Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voter card to disguise her real age and altered her official records, including her name, to conceal her identity.
The Sahara Reporters publisher wrote:” Evidence now available suggests that Senator Ned Nwoko travelled internationally with Regina Daniels when she was still a minor. Records indicate she was born in October 2001 and their marriage took place in May 2019, when she was 17.”
He further alleged that Mr Nwoko changed her name from Regina Nneamaka Favour Ojeogwu to Regina Daniels and introduced her to drugs “to enable him to force himself on her.”
Mr Sowore claimed the couple travelled to Jordan, the UAE and Egypt using a passport that reflected her as underage but avoided the UK, US and parts of Europe “because he knew the implications.”
‘Violation of the law’
According to Mr Sowore, the allegations raise serious legal and ethical concerns that cannot be ignored. He insisted that prevailing facts point to a breach of moral and statutory boundaries.
“No amount of influence or political power should shield anyone from accountability when such grave issues are involved. Senator Ned Nwoko is fully exposed now,” he wrote.
He also alleged that a letter seeking his arrest was written to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, a move he described as laughable and an attempt to intimidate him.
“Instead of facing up to his crimes, Ned is doing what men like him always do, using money, influence and the broken machinery of the Nigeria Police Force to silence those who expose him,” he added.
Nwoko says allegation ‘false and misleading’
Responding on Thursday in a Facebook post, Mr Nwoko dismissed the allegations by both Regina and Mr Sowore as false.
He shared what he said was Regina’s INEC voter card, claiming it proves she was born on 10 October 1998 and could not have been 17 during their marriage.
“These claims are entirely untrue and misleading,” he wrote.
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“During my first meeting with Regina, I asked her age and she told me she was 21. She presented her voter’s card as evidence, which I have kept since that day.”
He argued that “all verifiable records” indicate that their marriage occurred six years ago, which would make Regina 27, not 25, further conflicting with his earlier Monday statement that put her birth year at 2000.
Mr Nwoko urged the public to treat Regina’s claims “with caution,” citing what he described as her unstable mental state and incomplete rehabilitation process.
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