- Says DNA Exposed Ex-wife’s Alleged Infidelity
By Abiola Olawale
Weeks after the paternity brouhaha between the family/associates of late Tunde Thomas and his wife, Moyo Thomas was made public, Honorable Justice Anthony Ezonfade Okorodas has come out to accuse his former wife, Celia, of paternity fraud.
Justice Okorodas, who is a Judge at the Delta State High Court made this revelation in a press statement made available to The New Diplomat. He alleged his former wife, who separated from him 11 years ago, of birthing three children that were not his biological children.
Okorodas said in early 2020 he had received an information from an anonymous source that indicated that his last child from his marriage with Celia was not his biological child. He stated that the information prompted him to go for a DNA test on the child, noting the result did not match the child’s DNA with his.
According to him, subsequent tests carried out on the two other children also confirmed that he is not their biological father.
Okorodas’ statement reads: “Sometime during the coronavirus lockdowns early last year, I received information from an anonymous source that indicated that the last of the three children from my previous marriage was in fact not my biological child. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions at the time, I had to wait until August 2020 to carry out a DNA test. The DNA test result which came out in September 2020 confirmed that I was not the biological father of the child. Consequently, I convened a joint meeting between my extended family on the one side, and Celia’s paternal and maternal families (i.e., the Ototo Family of Ovom Town and the Agbagidi Family of Yenagoa Town) on the other side, where I confronted her with the paternity fraud allegation. Although she initially strongly insisted that I was the biological father, she has since confessed to having the child with another man during the course of our marriage. This repulsive act of my ex-wife prompted me to conduct DNA tests in respect of the two other children. A few days ago, the results came out. Sadly, none of them is my biological child.”
While narrating how he received the news, Okorodas, said it was a mental trauma experience for him.
In his words, “This abomination has caused excruciating mental trauma to me, my present wife, Barrister (Mrs) Ebi Okorodas and all of the innocent children involved. This is particularly so for Ebi, who has had to agree to having DNA tests on the four children of our own marriage. Thankfully, the test results confirm each of them to be my biological child. It is important to state that Celia walked away from the marriage when her youngest child (who is now 17 years of age) was just 6 years old. Since then, all
of her children have lived with my wife, Ebi and I, and we have been wholly responsible for their wellbeing and education.”
Paternity fraud in Nigeria is on the high side, following recent revelations forcing many married men to confirm the paternity of their children.
It would be recalled that there is a similar situation, about the paternity scandal involving Moyo Thomas and late Tunde Thomas, who were couples and Adam Nuru who was the Managing Director (MD) of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
It was reported that Moyo allegedly had an extramarital affairs with Nuru, which later produced the two children that Tunde thought were his biological children. Upon discovering that his children were not his, Tunde reportedly suffered heart attack which took his life. Mr Nuhu has been asked to step aside as the MD of FCMB amid ongoing investigations on the scandal.
