CITY NEWS Court orders arrest of Islamic cleric over paternity row

The Abeokuta Grade I Customary Court, sitting at Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday ordered the arrest of Alfa Abdulraman Jegede, an Islamic cleric, for contempt of court on a row with his wife, Amudalat Jegede, over the paternity of one of their children.

For the third consecutive time, Jegede had failed to appear before the court, prompting the court president, Chief O.O. Akande to issue the warrant of arrest and that the Alfa should be brought before the court on Friday.

At the resumed hearing of the divorce suit filed by Amudalat, mother of two, where the paternity of the second child of the union is being contested, Jegede failed to produce his family members as had been requested by the court since September 19, and had not honoured the three invitations sent to him through the court bailiff.

Jegede had contested the paternity of the second child, claiming that the baby’s placenta was not handed over to him as tradition demands, and, as such, he should not be held responsible as the baby’s father.

He had been told to prepare for a DNA test to ascertain the paternity of the five-monthold baby, but after he pleaded to be given the last chance to consult with his parents, he was directed to appear in court yesterday for the final decision. But he failed to show up again before the court.

Akande, assisted by Mrs. S.A Ogunyemi on the bench, ruled that Jegede should be arrested, “having failed to obey government’s directive.”