It is so easy to miss the constitutional issues inherent in the unravelling of Senator Ned Nwoko’s marriage to actress Regina Daniels.

While many see it as an occasion to celebrate Regina’s frustrations with her hitherto envied status and likely divorce from her wealthy politician-businessman husband, we should not forget the power dynamics between the couple, especially when weighed against Regina’s feeble attempts to probably draw attention to her troubling situation last February, when she yanked off Nwoko’s name from her Instagram bio and deleted his photos from her Insta page; only for the man to mount a post celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary a month later, titled, ‘Six Years Later… She Still Can’t Resist Me;’ and the beat appeared to continue afterwards, until last week’s allegation of domestic violence and the senator’s claim that his wife had acted under the influence.

The question to Senator Nwoko is: Since when has his wife been abusing drugs? And, if true, why does he appear to use it as a weapon to sway public opinion against her now that she and her relations have alleged domestic violence?

Amazingly, the Nigerian Constitution doesn’t have a specific law against domestic violence, even though it prohibits inhuman and degrading treatment in Section 34, and includes the right to personal liberty and privacy.

The question to Senator Nwoko is: Since when has his wife been abusing drugs? And, if true, why does he appear to use it as a weapon to sway public opinion against he…

Yes, these general provisions are regularly used to combat domestic violence, along with specific laws like the 2015 Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) and state-specific laws like the 2007 Protection Against Domestic Violence Law in Lagos State. It is obvious that much still needs to be done to protect the vulnerable.

Of course, asking members of the National Assembly to rise to the occasion might sound like asking them to self-sabotage, considering the various shocking criminal allegations hanging over the heads of several of them, ranging from sponsoring assassinations to certificate forgery, criminal convictions in foreign countries, and sexual harassment.

Characteristically, once dirty news breaks about our political class, all it takes to silence the populace or change the narrative is a publicly issued press statement; or, depending on the severity of the intended social media war, launching funny characters who will surface with unsubstantiated allegations enriched with the devious claim that their activities are borne out of concern for the fatherland.

Equally of concern is the derisive comments that greeted Regina’s mom’s outcry about her daughter’s suffering. The average respondent to her lamentation failed to realize the enormity of domestic violence and how the tables are almost always turned against the victim.

At the end of the day, Regina Daniels’ travails are a national tragedy, whether or not we agree about it; and the sooner we remove sentiments from our approach to such issues, the better for us all.

READ ALSO: FOR THE RECORD: A plea and testimony from Nigeria

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According to a statement, the postponement was necessitated by the closing ceremony of the National Sports Festival, being hosted by Delta State on the same day.

“The new date for the special Youth Assembly is January 7, 2023, at Mount Ned Resort, Idumuje Ugboko,” the statement reads.

“Convener of the meeting, Hon. Prince Ned Nwoko, PDP Delta North Senatorial Candidate, earnestly looks forward to an engaging interactive session with all youths across the nine local government areas of Delta North that make up Anioma,” the statement reads further, adding: “We regret any inconvenience the postponement may have caused.”

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Justice Chizoba Oji adjourned the matter after counsel for the parties stated their positions on their resolved to explore out-of-court settlement.

When the matter was called for hearing, Ogbechie’s counsel, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, SAN, informed the court that the out-of-court settlement had broken down as the defendant had not reached out to him since the last adjourned date.

But Onyeka Nwokolo, who appeared for Nwoko, told the court that he had not been able to proceed with the planned reconciliation because his client had been indisposed.

Nwokolo, who said that he discussed the possibility of the settlement with his client, said he was still convinced that the window for settlement could still be explored.

He admitted that he had not been able to communicate the outcome of their discourse with the claimant’s lawyer.

Ohwovoriole, however, disagreed with Nwokolo’s submission, stating that the defendant had 180 days from May 30, the last adjourned date, to explore the avenue.

The lawyer said he was ready to proceed with the case.

Justice Oji agreed with the submission of Ohwovoriole and called for commencement of hearing in the suit.

She however advised both parties to explore the out-of-court-settlement option before the next hearing date.

The judge adjourned the matter until February 27 for further hearing or report on the outcome of the reconciliation.

Ogbechie, in the writ of summons marked: CR/560/2021, had sued Nwoko as sole defendant.

In the suit, Ogbechie is claiming, among others, a retraction of the defamatory publication allegedly made by Nwoko, a written apology and the sum of N1 billion as damages.

Source: NAN

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This is as it set aside the April 3, 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which pronounced Ned Nwoko as senator, after stating that he was the  candidate of the PDP in the October 2, 2018 primary election in Delta State.

The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment on Thursday declared that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction to have heard the case filed by Ned Nwoko against Nwaoboshi.

The court said the case filed by Nwoko before the High Court was statute barred, having exceeded 14 days from the time of the incidence that informed the suit.

The court ruled:  “As at the time the matter was instituted at the Federal High Court, the case was statute barred. We set aside the decision of the Federal High Court and strike out the case.”

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