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•Udeh
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Members of Patricia’s family are saying that since Gabriel properly married her according to their culture and tradition in Delta State, the children belong to Gabriel.
The fighting has become so intense that the police at Area ‘M’ Command, Idimu have intervened in the matter to no avail.
According to Patricia, she married Gabriel more than 20 years ago and they had a daughter who is now married and has kids.
She later left Gabriel in Delta State and came to Lagos and lived with Udeh from Abiriba in Abia State as husband and wife and had five children.
Last year she decided to go back to her former husband, Gabriel, with her five children and claimed that the children belong to him.
Udeh, whom she had lived with since 1993 and believed to be the father of those children, was left with none of the children.
Udeh is pleading that if Patricia has decided to go back to Gabriel, her family should allow him take custody of his children in the interest of peace and justice.
While narrating what happened, Udeh said he met Patricia in Lagos in 1993 and they started living together as husband and wife and he later took her to Cotonou in the Repblic of Benin in 1994 where they lived and had all the five children.
He said they later came back to Lagos and settled at 10, Olayitaro Street, Bayota Bus Stop, off Governor Road in Ikotun, Lagos.
He said they had been living peacefully until last year when he came back from work and did not see Patricia and the children.
Udeh said he later learnt she had gone to her brother who handed her and the children over to Gabriel.
However, another trouble started when two of his older children, their first daughter, 17, and a boy, 13, found their way back to Udeh in Lagos.
But Udeh and the two children were arrested by the police and taken to Idimu Command.
The police forced him to release the children to Patricia, and he said he consented because he had no money to fight back.
“While she withheld the other three children, she and the family are still making attempt to take the other two with me to her new husband,” Udeh lamented.
When asked about Gabriel, he said he did not know anything about him until this matter came up.
•The five children in contention. Inset Patricia when she was younger
He admitted that he did not pay her bride price all the years they were living together and said he only did marriage ‘introduction’ and was given a list of what to do and he was not able to do it because of lack of money.
Udeh said he had taken some wine to Patricia’s uncle called Godwin Osadebe who lives at Ago-Okota as part of the introduction and promised to do other things when he had money.
He described what is happening now as shocking and did not believe Patricia could dump him and take his children to another man.
When P.M.NEWS contacted Gabriel, he said he had taken his wife and children back and declined to make further comment.
The head of Patricia’s family in Lagos, Chief Agumba said the family does not recognize Udeh because there was no proper marriage between him and their daughter, Patricia.
He said Gabriel is recognized as her husband and if indeed Udeh wanted to marry Patricia, he would have paid the bride price to the family.
P.M.NEWS
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Na wa ooooooo, may God help u Mr Patrick,na one chance marriage u enter.
ReplyDeleteDis is serious!!! Hw can a man convert another man's children? I know dos children will not keep up with dis for long, they will surely ccome bck to their real father.
ReplyDeleteBut that is the tradition, Udeh is an Igbo man and should know that it is so in Igbo custom. Once u didn't pay ur spouse bride price, u can't lay claim to her children even if u are the biological father.
ReplyDeleteUdeh is nothing but a foolish man.
A lesson to men who go for awoof product. Lived with a woman since 1993 and did not pay bride price. Haba. It's unfortunate it turned out this way but its a lesson.
ReplyDeletethat is the disadvantage of cohabiting with a woman. if udeh has made the necessary steps towards formalizing the relationship, he would have found out certain things about this woman. however, I know when this kids are fully grown they will trace there steps back to there biological father. I pray there education is not affected.
ReplyDeleteNE you didn't tell us if Gabriel was alone all the while after his wife ran away, and which effort he made to get his wife back 20yrs ago
ReplyDeleteLaskie
Penny wise, Pound foolish! Both men are stupid and foolish. Which man can live and raise children with a woman without legally and marring her in customs. Which man will also accept children that is not his biologically and this is not adoption. In the the children will still be attached to their biological father and at the end of the day will go back when they come of age. After all, Blood is thicker than water.
ReplyDelete....But women shld stop complicating issues . That woman is a confussionist ;long truth .
ReplyDeleteThey should share the children. Period.
ReplyDeleteBlood is blood nomater what. Gabriel shud stop fooling himselblcs sooner or he wake up only to discover dat d children have gone back to dir boilogical father, he can still pay d bride if d woman's family r willing to colect it from him
ReplyDeleteThey are still paying bride price? Nigeria is still in the dark ages. That's why men are beating up women b'cos they feel that they own them since they paid for them like one pays for animal. Stop bride price. We are not animals!!!!
ReplyDeleteUde is the owner of those children period
ReplyDeleteUdeh is an Igbo man, he knows the custom. He should stop being unnecessarily sentimental. I cant see him taking care of those children, when he can't even pay the women's bride price. Let them go to where they can be taken care of. Then he should pray that when they become somebody they may remember him. Being a father is not measured only by ones ability to produce children, but the ability to live up to ones responsibilities.
ReplyDelete