Following the failed attempt by singer, Davido to take his baby, Imade out of Nigeria, his baby-mama,
Sophia Momodu has accused him of child trafficking and abduction.
Through her lawyers, Sophia sent a petition to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons against
Davido and his sister,
Coco Adeleke.
Read the full text of the petition below.
December 30, 2016
The Director General
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons
No. 2028 Delaba Street
Wuse Zone 5
FCT, Abuja
Dear Madam,
PETITION AGAINST MISS ASHLEY COCO ADELEKE & MR ADEDEJI ADELEKE
FOR ATTEMPTED CHILD TRAFFICKING AND ABDUCTION OF MISS AURORA IMADE
ADELEKE
We act as Solicitors for Miss. Sophia Ajibola Momodu, (hereinafter
referred to as our client) whose instructions we have to forward this
petition to your esteemed Agency.
Our client, a 27 year old, is the biological mother of a baby girl
with name, Aurora Imade Adeleke, who was born on the 14th day of May
2015. The baby’s father is Mr. David Adedeji Adeleke (aka Davido). The
father and mother are unmarried.
On the 11th July, 2015, our client was tricked to visit the house of
Mr. David Adedeji Adeleke’s half sister – Miss Ashley Coco Adeleke’s
with her baby, Imade Aurora Adeleke. After getting to the house on
Baderinwa Alabi Street, Lekki Phase I, Lagos, our client’s baby was
forcefully taken from her and she was thrown out of the premises with
the threat that she would be decisively dealt with if she ever bothered
to return there. There were armed policemen in the premises and our
client’s survival instinct prevailed on her to make her leave her breast
suckling baby behind, with so much pain in her heart.
By daybreak on the next day, our client was again at Ashley Coco
Adeleke’s house to take her baby, but she was prevented by armed
policemen from gaining access into the house. She was again threatened
and warned never to return for the child.
Since July 2015, our client, who has now become so disorientated,
saddened and confused has been going to family members, including her
cousin, Mr Dele Momodu, and other well meaning Nigerians to intervene
and allow her get her baby back or at least allow her to be able to have
access to and care for her daughter. This was frustrated by Coco
Adeleke, David Adeleke and their father, Mr. Adedeji Adeleke. These
people boasted to our client and all her family and friends that our
client is a nonentity and of little substance in Nigeria. They also
claim that they have the financial wherewithal and political and
security clout to deal with her and her family anyhow and without any
consequence with the aid of their brother and uncle, Senator Isiaka
Adeleke, and other friends Mr Deji Adeleke purportedly has in
government. In a bid to justify their actions, Mr Deji Adeleke and his
daughter, Ashley Coco Adeleke, have been spreading several malicious and
unfounded allegations about our client.
While the attempts at finding a peaceful and lasting solution were
still ongoing, on Tuesday the 29th December 2015, Ashley Coco Adeleke
and her father, Mr Deji Adeleke, tried to travel to Dubai with our
client’s baby. The baby was meant to be flown out of the country with
Nigerian and American passports. Prior to that date, our client and her
cousin, Mr Dele Momodu, had gone to alert the immigration services at
the Murtala Mohammed, Ikeja International airport of the likelihood of
Ashley Coco Adeleke travelling with our client’s baby by pretending to
be the Mother. Our client believes that her baby’s American passport was
hidden and is now likely to be in possession of Mr Deji Adeleke or
Ashley Coco Adeleke. It appears that the assistance of Emirates Airline
was sought as the baby’s American passport was not produced in breach of
aviation regulations. Neither was a letter of authority from the mother
to confirm her consent to the trip produced despite the airline being
alerted.
When Mrs. Modupe Mofikoya, the immigration officer who attended to
the Adeleke travelling party accosted Ashley Coco Adeleke and asked for
the mother of the baby, Ashley Adeleke claimed that she was the mother.
Immediately, the immigration officer on duty collected her Nigerian
international passport, she quickly absconded from the scene with the
baby and her father, Mr Deji Adeleke, showed up shortly afterwards to
try to clear his daughter’s mess.
Our client with the help of her family members, including Mr Dele
Momodu, determinedly resisted the attempt by Miss Ashley Coco Adeleke
and her father, Mr Deji Adeleke, from taking Aurora Imade Adeleke from
Lagos yesterday. Our client believes that the pair are trying to take
the child to America and thus put her out of the reach of the biological
mother.
At the moment, Miss Ashley Coco Adeleke and our client’s daughter,
Aurora Imade Adeleke are still in Lagos and two of their respective
international passports are in the custody of the airport immigration
services. Our client’s fear now, is that Ashley Coco may use her
Nigerian passport and Aurora Imade’s American passport to travel through
other Nigerian or West African airports.
We know that the actions of Mr Deji Adeleke and Miss Ashley Coco
Adeleke contravene many provisions of the law. One is Section 13 of the
Childs Right Law 2007 of Lagos State (as adapted from the Federal Act),
which guarantees Aurora Imade Adeleke’s right to parental care and
protection. That law also forbids separation of a child from her
parents. Another is Section 24 of the same law, which also prohibits
abduction of a child from the lawful custody of her parents. Neither Mr
Deji Adeleke or Ms Ashley Coco Adeleke has any lawful right to the
custody of Aurora Imade Adeleke. Even the unmarried father, Mr David
Adedeji Adeleke, only has limited rights to the child and certainly not
to the exclusion of our client, the natural mother as the Adeleke’s are
trying to do.
We are of the sound view that your Agency is the most viable
organisation that can intervene in the plight of our client and save her
from the untold trauma that she is going through in the hands of Mr
Deji Adeleke and Ashley Coco Adeleke, who has her own child that she
keeps with her. We have advised our client about the statutory powers of
your Agency to potently investigate and enforce all the provisions of
the law that deal with abduction and trafficking in persons.
We urge you to use your good offices to intervene in the case of our
client and protect a baby who should still be under her mother’s care
from being abducted and smuggled abroad.
We thank you.
Yours faithfully,
O. AJAYI & CO./Gbolaga Ajayi Esq.
