Court bars Fani-Kayode’s ex-wife from comments on family, children

A magistrate’s court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Wednesday, restrained an estranged wife of Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister, from making controversial comments about their children.

The court ordered Precious Chikwendu not to make public comments that could unduly expose the identities of the children whose custody is subject of ongoing litigation.

Mr Fani-Kayode and Ms Chikwendu have been locked in a legal battle over the custody of their four sons since they split in late 2020.

The crisis between them has snowballed into various court actions and filing of petitions against each other. The police recently arraigned Ms Chikwendu on attempted murder charges based on Mr Fani-Kayode’s complaints.

Ms Chikwendu, whose series of court actions have failed to earn her the custody of the children, recently sent petitions to the United Nations (UN), Amnesty International, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in quest for justice.

There are also ongoing proceedings concerning the children custody dispute between the former couple at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Mr Fani-Kayode, on Wednesday, approached the magisterial family court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja to obtain an order to restrain Ms Chikwendu’s comments on their children.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ex-minister’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, moved the ex parte application on Wednesday.

Ruling on the application, the magistrate, Njideka Duru, issued an interim injunction restraining Ms Chikwendu “from publishing the names, address, school, photographs or making any comment, presenting any speech or paper whether at a public gathering or during a programme described as ‘Green Shift’ (Apostolic Roundtables) slated for February 24.”

She also granted the order restraining the mother of four from commenting “on any social media platform of any information likely to lead to the identification of any of the children whose custody issues have been submitted to this court for determination, pending the determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

Other payers granted

The magistrate also granted other prayers contained in the ex parte motion marked: MN/05/2022 and filed on February 14.

Other prayers granted include “an order setting down for hearing in camera, the conduct of any or all proceedings in this case, in the best interest of the children involved; to preserve their respective rights to dignity and privacy.”

He also asked the court for an order of interim injunction stopping Chikwendu or associates from making presentations at any public gathering or social media platform of the broken relationship.

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The magistrate also issued “an order granting leave to the applicant, to amend the originating process filed in this case.”

She also ordered the substituted service of the main suit, and other applications filed by Mr Fani-Kayode on Ms Chikwendu, who is the sole respondent in the suit.

The magistrate then adjourned the case until March 24.

Meanwhile, the police had on February 14, arraigned Ms Chikwendu and three others on 13 counts of attempting to kill Mr Fani-Kayode, among other offences.

The ex-beauty queen and her co-defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when read to them at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The judge, Inyang Ekwo, subsequently fixed April 27 for commencement of trial.