Mrs Taiwo Obasanjo, a wife of former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, has lost the bid to postpone the wedding of her son, Olujonwo, to
Miss Tope Adebutu.
Justice Lateefa Okunnu of a Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, yesterday struck out her suit in which she
sought an order of the court to stop the wedding.
The respondents in the suit were: Chief Kessington Adebutu and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Mrs Obasanjo’s application before the Family Court sought an order to postpone the wedding beyond May because of a spiritual advice she was reportedly given concerning him.
She also prayed the to court to compel all concerned in the wedding to postpone it to allow her perform her parental duties to his son.
Addressing the court yesterday, lawyer to the respondents, Bode Olanipekun, urged the court to dismiss the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
Olanipekun averred that by virtue of Section 18 of the Marriage Act and Section 261 of the Child’s Act, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter because the child in the suit was above 18 years.
The lawyer said the claims of the applicants did not show any reasonable cause of action.
He drew the attention of the court to a letter purportedly written to a church with the notion that the court had given an injunction stopping the marriage.
But Mrs Obasanjo’s lawyer, Adeyemi Adegbite, urged the court to disregard the argument of the respondent and postpone the wedding.
Justice Okunnu held that her court, being a family court, did not have jurisdiction to entertain a matter involving an adult of 33 years.
She said: “On March 27, I directed counsel to address me on whether this court has jurisdiction to entertain a suit over a child who is an adult. This court adjudicates on matters involving children under 18 years and the subject matter is this suit in a 33-year-old adult.
“I regret that this court does not have jurisdiction to hear this matter. Moreover, this suit does not disclose any cause of action.
“This suit is hereby dismissed in its entirety.”
Also, a statement yesterday by Princelyn Oduenyi, on behalf of the family, stressed that with the dismissal of the suit, the marriage could go on as planned.
It said there was no more legal obstruction to stop the ceremony.
“By this ruling, the Adebutu, Martins and Obasanjo families have been vindicated. They wish to use this opportunity to thank friends, well-wishers, families and others who have supported them in prayers and who have reached out to them by phone calls or email messages to enquiry about their welfare while the case was pending in court,” the statement added.
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