A former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has hit back at his estranged wife, Precious Chikwendu, and denied that he physically abused her while they were married.

He was reacting to claims made by Ms Chikwendu via a court affidavit that theirs was a violent union.

“She is a pathological liar and a slanderer and we intend to prove this in court. We also believe that she is unfit to be a mother and that she has shown nothing but cruelty to her children whom she has never taken care of,’’ Mr Fani-Kayode said in a statement issued by his media aide, Oladimeji Olaiya.

He continued, “We believe that the children’s lives would be in danger if they are with her and we shall prove this in court.

“For the avoidance of doubt, at no time did Fani-Kayode expose his children to danger. He provided them with the best of care including 12 nannies and nurses who did all the work even when their mother was in the house.

Ms Chikwendu has accused him of beating her up on several occasions including when she was pregnant.

The ex-beauty queen, who is demanding full custody of their four sons, made the allegations in an affidavit she deposed in support of an originating motion brought pursuant to Section 69 of the Child’s Rights Act, 2003.

Ms Chikwendu, who alleged that the ex-minister had denied her access to her children for several months, asked the court to compel Fani-Kayode to give her a monthly payment of N3.5m for the upkeep of the four sons.

The news of their separation was made public in September 2020.

The couple, who are parents to four sons, including a set of two-year-old triplets, have been married since 2014.

A family source told newsmen at the time the marriage broke down irretrievably due to a health challenge that Ms Chikwendu has been trying to manage since they became a couple.

The couple has apparently been living apart for some months now.

Born in 1989, Precious, who is fondly referred to as Snow White, is a model, actress, and former beauty queen.

She represented Nigeria at the Miss United Nations World Beauty pageant in 2014.

 

She could not be reached as of press time.

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