THE mother of the son of Jamil Abubakar, son-in-law to Aliko Dangote, has filed for sole custody of the child over controversial comments he made concerning the killing of Deborah Samuel.
Jamil, a pilot and the son of a former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar is one of the Nigerian public figures that made controversial comments which appeared to justify Deborah’s killing by a mob after she was accused her of blasphemy.
READ ALSO:
Deborah: Tambuwal lifts curfew in Sokoto, bans processions
Deborah: NBA postpones 2022 Sokoto conference
Deborah: Public figures that made controversial posts
His controversial comments on Twitter had elicited mixed reactions.
Following the development, the mother of his son, Irene Nwachukwu, a Christian, has said she does not want Abubakar to influence the boy with his extreme religious views.
Irene was already engaged in a legal battle with Abubakar over the boy’s custody.
In a petition dated May 17, Irene said the pilot’s “extreme religious views” were disturbing and she won’t allow her child to be brought up by someone with such ideology.
The petition titled, ‘Notice for possible discontinuation and request for sole legal custody’ was addressed to Abubakar’s lawyers.
The petition read, “Following your client’s Mr Jamil MD Abubakar recent tweeting the media dated 12th May 2022 (attached to this letter) I have come to the decision that my child will not be going anywhere near him, now or in the future, as I do not want my child to be raised by or be in the custody of someone with such extreme religious views, in order not to confuse the poor boy’s thoughts or cloud his sense of reasoning.
“It’s dangerous to expose my son to your extreme religious views.
“My child attends a school with pupils from various backgrounds and beliefs, it’s therefore dangerous to expose him to such teachings. I’ve been the only responsible parent and my child has been in my custody since birth, so it’ll be best if he stops contending custody with me in court at this time.
“This is also to note that I will not be asking for or accepting any child support, or needing his assistance with parenting such as attending PTA meetings, picking a school or having a say on what school he attends, or the house he has for the child, as was stated in the counter-suits filed against me where he claimed paternity to the child who I’ve been solely responsible for in the last 5 years, and I hereby withdraw any motion that has been filed by my previous lawyer (who I disengaged in March 2022) in the past to that effect, as this might be your client’s reason for having entitled to custody of my sort.
“Forgive me if I have expressed the desire to co-parent with him, where he asked to play the fatherly role. I am now realizing that this will never happen as the child custody he’s asking for shares Christian blood, and I’m very disturbed and seriously concerned about leaving my child in the care of someone with such mindset and ideology about religion.”
Irene added that as a mother, it’s her duty to ensure the mental and psychological safety of her child.
She urged Abubakar to drop a lawsuit dated January 25, 2022, which he filed against her at the Court of Appeal, and allow the high court to grant her request for sole custody.
“I do not need a dime from him to cater for my child now or in the future, he hasn’t been in my son’s life and I wish this continues to be so.
“As soon as I am done with my professional exams I will be able to engage a new lawyer, and a fresh motion for sole custody will be filled and have served before the next court date,” she added.
In a controversial post on Twitter after Deborah’s killing, Abubakar said, “The punishment for blasphemy is death! in most religions including Christianity. Respect people’s religion. It’s simple!”
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.