Femi Fani-Kayode, the ex-minister of aviation, has asked the court to dismiss the N800m suit filed against him by Precious Chikwendu, his estranged wife.
Fani-Kayode and Chikwendu’s marriage hit the rocks in 2020 over the former’s domestic violence claim and the latter’s counter-claim of infidelity.
They have since been in a heated legal tussle for the custody of their four children.
Chikwendu earlier filed a suit at a federal high court in Abuja seeking the enforcement of her rights.
In the suit filed against five respondents including Fani-Kayode, the former beauty queen demanded N800 million as damages for the alleged role the respondents played in “intimidating and harassing” her during the pendency of her custody suit.
Fani-Kayode, however, filed a counter-affidavit dated October 26 in response to the claims Chikwendu made in her suit.
The ex-minister dismissed the claim that he “violently” separated Chikwendu from their children.
Fani-Kayode instead alleged that the former beauty never extended maternal care to their children as she had a “medical condition that deprived her of any filial bond with them”.
The former minister also claimed his estranged wife refused to breastfeed their kids on account of “preserving her body shape”.
“It is not surprising that Ms. Precious Chikwendu is capable of such reckless abandonment,” the ex-minister said in the suit.
“Whilst she was with me in the house afore-described, she employed 12 in-house nannies to cater for the children, excluding supervisors and nurses who equally attend to them.
“The Applicant did not at any time extend maternal care to the children, for the reason that she had a medical condition which deprived her of any filial bond with them.
“She deprived the children of the natural sucks or breast milk, also on account of the need to preserve her body shape, coupled with a contrived medical condition which she claimed would not permit her to breastfeed them.”
Fani-Kayode further claimed that Chikwendu threatened to “kill” him and their kids unprovoked, and put their life at risk with her “un-repented sexual escapades”.
He alleged that she had an affair with a naval officer who accused her of misleading him by claiming she was single.
On this basis, Fani-Kayode asked the court to dismiss Chikwendu’s suit, which he described as “lacking in merit”.
“I know that the instant suit is nothing but a smokescreen intended to avoid the long arms of justice and to malign me. There is no merit whatsoever in this suit, which was filed in abuse of court and judicial process,” he added.
“It is in the interest of justice to dismiss this suit for lacking in merit.”
