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A Lagos High Court, yesterday threw out an application filed by Mrs. Mojisola Obasanjo, seeking that further proceedings in the divorce case between her and her husband, Gbenga Obasanjo, be heard in camera.
Ruling on the application, Justice (Mrs.) Williams Dawodu, said there was no room for such discretion in her court, saying that the court’s discretion must be judicial and judicious. Justice Williams held that under Section 36(1) and (2) of the 1999 constitution, civil rights to which matrimonial causes belong is absolute and the constitutional provisions admits no exception. According to the court, publicity is the hallmark of judicial administration. The court however ordered that there shall be no printing or publication on anything that relates to the Gbenga Obasanjo’s children. Justice Williams described the two children as vulnerable group, declaring that the interest of the two children was of paramount consideration and needed to be protected. Justice Williams adjourned the case to June 4. Mrs. Mojisola Obasanjo, through her lawyer, Helen Ovonlen, had filed an application and a cross petition before the court, asking for an order that all those who are not parties to the matter should be excluded from further proceedings. She also prayed the court for an order stopping further publication of the divorce petition by the media. But Gbenga through his counsel, Addeh Emmako, in a counter affidavit urged the court to discountenance the application that the press should be barred, saying that the publications taken as a whole could not be said to be libelous. The former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s son, Gbenga, wants to divorce his wife, Mojisola for allegedly having sexual intercourse with his father, Obasanjo, in order to curry favour and secure juicy contracts. But Mojisola is demanding ample compensation, asking the court for an order directing the petitioner, Gbenga, to pay N54 million for maintenance. She is seeking an order that the family house at No. 8, Ladipo Bateye street, GRA, Ikeja be given to her or in the alternative, make Gbenga pay N50 million for the purchase of a house of comparable standard for the accommodation of the respondent. She is also praying for an order directing the petitioner to make adequate financial arrangement for the provision of security for the two children of the marriage, including adequate security safe-guards for the premises where they will be residing. In her affidavit, she stated that the petitioner has several construction contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and earns commission as an agent to a construction company with various construction projects, which was recently awarded an N11 billion contract.
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