Matters arising from marriage vows and DNA imbroglio in Nigeria
By Tony Nwakaegho
Marriage has always been consummated in Nigeria as two types which include Marriage under the Act and Traditional/Customary marriage.
In the olden days, some married women did engage in extra-marital affairs, likewise married men as some traditions and beliefs condone the practice of married women getting pregnant outside their matrimonial homes and bearing the children for their husbands without any reservations, especially when it is discovered that the man cannot father a child.
What is playing out now is the issue of paternity tests in marriages as modern societies are stuffed with the stories of children being reared by non-biological fathers. Some common reason for paternity test includes: Personal reason; To confirm biological relationship; To obtain child support; To obtain custody; Legal parenthood disputes; Asserting the right to inherit; immigration reasons, health reasons or when there is a clear indication or strong suspicion that a female partner or wife has been unfaithful.
The DNA which is deoxyribonucleic acid which is in vogue now is a test meant to confirm the paternity of the children. However, every right thinking man in doubt has every right to do a DNA test to confirm the paternity of his “children.”
Shina Peters, the juju musician, who was recently ordained a Bishop of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, was alleged by a blogger, Gist Lover that Mide and Peters had abandoned her late wife, Funmi Martins’ son Oluwadamilare, who is now 19 years old due to paternity controversy.
In his reaction, Peters said, “I would like to thank all Nigerians in the Diaspora. I will be turning 64, so I should know the right thing to do. On the issue of Oluwadamilare, from the beginning, there were a lot of controversies, but as an elderly person, I don’t want to discuss that. I have put it behind me. My concern now is how we are going to take good care of Damilare.”
Peters also urged his fans and other Nigerians who had initiated plans to crowd-fund for the boy to put a stop to it because he didn’t want people to use the poor boy to siphon money, adding he wanted to take charge of him and be fully responsible for him.
However, Nollywood star, Ronke Odusanya paternity crisis has snowballed into litigation at Ogba Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, which ordered a DNA test to be conducted on Oluwafifehanmi, the daughter of a Nollywood star, Ronke Odusanya.
The trial Magistrate, Ms. M. O. Tanimola, gave the order while ruling on an application brought before her court by Olanrewaju Saheed, the estranged lover of Odusanya.
The popular actress and the father of her child, Olanrewaju Saheed, also known as Jago, are currently in court for several reasons including the welfare and custody of their daughter born in 2019.
During recent proceedings Saheed, through his lawyer, requested the court to order a DNA test to ascertain the paternity of the child.
Shaeed’s application was based on the grounds of suspicion of alleged infidelity on the part of Odusanya.
The actress and her lawyer agreed to the request on the condition that the DNA fees and other bills be footed by Saheed.
The actress’ lawyer also pleaded with the court to ensure it is a court-supervised DNA test.
The trial magistrate Ms Tanimola in her ruling, decided on an undisclosed hospital on Lagos Island for the test to be done, and for the results to be sent directly to the court and adjourned the case till March 31, for further hearing.
Recently, a Nigerian judge of Delta State High Court, Hon. Justice Anthony Okorodas cried out after he allegedly discovered that three children he had with his ex-wife were not his biological offspring.
In his statement during a media parley in Asaba, he accused his former wife, Juliet Ototo, of cheating during their marriage, which ended 11 years ago.
Okoroda disclosed that he did not give birth to his three adult children, two of whom are already in tertiary institutions, comes amidst a storm of controversy over DNA examinations.
“This abomination has caused excruciating mental trauma to me, my present wife, Barrister (Mrs) Ebi Okorodas and all of the innocent children involved,” he said.
There was also another upheaval after it was revealed by a group of people, who identified themselves as friends of the deceased Tunde Thomas that Adam Nuru, the Managing Director of First City Monument Bank had illicit affairs with Mrs Moyo Thomas, one of his female subordinates who was married, leading allegedly to the death of the woman’s husband, Tunde Thomas through heart failure.
The woman, Mrs Moyo Thomas, denied the allegations, as well as the FCMB executive official. The bank has since launched an investigation into the matter and asked its official to proceed on a break pending the conclusion of findings.
Mrs Thomas has broken her silence, saying that on no occasion did she tell her deceased husband Tunde that he was not the father of her two children.
It is trite to say that being in love could make living attractively worthwhile, but paternity fraud has reared its head in marriages.
Paternity fraud is when a mother deliberately misidentifies her partner as the biological father of her child, according to Ene-Obong CEO and Co-founder of Stack Diagnostics.
An expert once opined that even though educated Nigerians have known DNA paternity tests for many decades, the knowledge became more widespread and more acceptable following the demise of Chief Moshood Abiola and the publication of his will.
A father, Foladera Duru said: “I am not in support of DNA because any man who finds out that he is not the real father of his children through paternity test he will not be able to defend his marriage thereafter. I would only recommend it for any family when issues concerning the children’s health arise.
“Doctors can assist the families by not disclosing such information to the public because it could destroy the marriage and families.”
A grandmother, Esther David, said “I would rather encourage women and men to live according to their marriage vows and not to discover that you are not the biological father of the child that you have catered for because of a DNA Test. It is quite traumatic.”
A marriage counselor, Mr Philip Odeh said lack of trust in marriage is one of the major reasons why DNA tests are demanded to ascertain the paternity of the children, stressing that DNA should not be an option since people do adopt children if they know biologically that they cannot have their own children.
However, some of the reasons adduced for this scenario that could lead to DNA test include: when a woman has been living a promiscuous life; Another syndrome also come in where women who can’t have children now go into buying children when they don’t know where the pregnancy came from but because they have the money and want the world to see them as mothers; Married women also give birth to children with questionable paternity to their husbands who don’t know that they are infertile because they want to give them children by all means; Some women indulge in the act because they are nymphomania with insatiable sexual urges and if one man cannot satisfy a woman and she continues to sleep with so many men then she wouldn’t know the father of her child.
Rape can bring about such a situation, where the victim will not know who was responsible for her child, for instance if a married woman, perchance, became a victim of rape, she might be too ashamed to tell people or go to the hospital to seek medical help, she would then claim that the pregnancy belongs to the husband.
Mrs Joyce Olumide disclosed that loneliness and high sexual urge make women give birth to children with questionable paternity to their husbands; especially some couples live far away from each because of their works.
According to her, the woman might easily cheat on the husband and pass a baby on to him as his, if she gets pregnant through her illicit affairs.
Culturally, when there’s no child born in a marriage, the woman gets blamed, when she knows she’s not at fault and the man is refusing to go for tests, pressure mounts and she gets pregnant through another man. She would now claim its husband’s child. The shame such an act would bring to the family and even the child is that he could be viewed as a bastard.
However, the implications of paternity test are currently disrupting relationships, homes, and marriages, while the victims of this crime ‘father or child’, stand the risk of depression, suicide and mental health problems.
Another salience issue is that wounds of such distrust after the DNA results returned negative scarcely heal as a wife could ask for divorce, on grounds of distrust.
