Irene Nwachukwu, mother of the child of Jamil Abubakar, Aliko Dangote’s son-in-law, has filed for the sole custody of their son over the father’s “extreme religious views”.
Jamil, a pilot and the son of a former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, had in a recent tweet seemingly endorsed capital punishment meted out to blasphemers in the wake of the murder of Deborah Samuel.
Abubakar had tweeted via his verified Twitter handle, @CaptJamyl, following lynching of Deborah, a female student of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, by extremists for alleged blasphemy, that “In Islam we respect the Injil, Taura, Zabur, we were never taught to disrespect any of the books, or any of the prophets From Adam to Muhammad SAW and the Quran.
“The punishment for blasphemy is death! in most religions including Christianity. Respect people’s religion. It’s simple!” Jamil’s tweet read.
Controversy had since trailed his tweet with many Nigerians censuring him for such a position.
In a petition dated May 17, the mother of his son, Nwachukwu, said the pilot’s “extreme religious views” were disturbing and she won’t allow her child, who she said is a Christian, with someone with such ideology.
The petition was titled, ‘Notice for possible discontinuation and request for sole legal custody’.
It 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 countersuits 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.
“I had thought that the man I met in my teenager was liberal in his thoughts and views, but obviously I was too naive to see beyond that and as a mother it is my duty to ensure the mental and psychological safety of my child.
“Your client Mr MD Abubakar will do well to drop the lawsuit he filed on 25th Jan 2022 against me in the court of appeal and let high court (who dismissed his case against me) grant my request for sole custody, as 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. In the meantime address any information or process directly to me.”
