Aminu Atiku and his estranged wife, Unmi Fatima Bolori
Mohammed Aminu Atiku, the son of former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, Mohammed Aminu Atiku, yesterday in Lagos, lost the struggle to have sole custody of his two children born to him by his estranged wife, Unmi Fatima Bolori.
Chief Magistrate Kikelomo Ayeye had earlier granted Aminu Atiku interim custody of the two children. But at the resumed hearing yesterday, the Chief Magistrate gave custody of the children, 7 and 9 years old respectively, to Ms. Bolori following Aminu and his lawyer’s non-appearance for the proceeding that was to determine the final custodial arrangement.
With this decision, the court has granted full custody of the children to the estranged wife. The court also ordered the father to pay for the upkeep of the children in the sum of N250,000 monthly starting from this month.
The court’s order followed arguments by Fatima Bolori’s lawyer, Mrs. Gloria Albert-Ekpe from the Festus Keyamo Chambers, that she should be granted the full custody of their two children – Ameera and Aamir.
The estranged couple and their children
Bolori’s counsel urged the magistrate to order Aminu to pay his estranged wife N300,000 monthly as feeding and maintenance allowances for the children’s upkeep and N1m yearly as their clothing allowance.
She also sought an order restraining Aminu from taking the kids “outside the shores of Nigeria for any purpose whatsoever” without Bolori’s consent.
The magistrate, Kikelomo Ayeye, granted Bolori’s prayers partly.
She held, “The respondent failed to file a response. In view of the deliberate absence of the respondent and his legal team, I am constrained to make these following orders in default of respondent’s presence and in the best interest of the children to wit: “Unmi Fatima Bolori is hereby granted full custody of Aamir Abubakar Sadiq Aminu Atiku (seven years) and Ameera Amina Atiku (nine years).
“The applicant is allowed to reside with the children at her residence at Katampe Extension, Abuja. The applicant is ordered to put the children in schools suited for their educational needs in Abuja.
“Access is granted to the respondent to visit his children in Abuja and request for the children to spend holidays with him. “The respondent is ordered to pay monthly upkeep for the children in the amount of N250, 000.00 monthly beginning January 2018.
“The respondent is ordered to effect medical insurance on each of the children.”
