I’m only assisting her, he couldn’t pay kids’ school fees -Wood
A battleline has been drawn between a Lebanese and a Briton resident in Nigeria. Their quarrel is over a Nigerian lady, Juliet and her two children, who the Lebanese is laying claims to. The Romeos are really at war with each other over Juliet. The angry Lebanese, Walid Yatim, is alleging that the Briton, Mike Wood, snatched his wife and took custody of his two children.
He has even threatened a showdown, with the ‘intruder’ if he fails to hands off and let his family be. According to Yatim, he married Juliet on March 24, 2005, at Apapa Marriage Registry, Lagos. The marriage is said to have been blessed with two girls, Serina, four, and Sonia, two.
The aggrieved Lebanese said he was ready to call it quits with the marriage but vowed not to allow another man to adopt or claim his children while he is still alive. He narrated how his estranged wife, on two occasions, attempted to use scissors and razor blade to kill him.
“I was sleeping one day and woke up to see her holding a razor blade, which she wanted to use to attack me. I managed to collect it from her. She used a plank to hit me on the head. Another problem I had with her was as a result of the children. She was not taking care of them. One day, she told me how people were making jest of her, saying she married a white man and had nothing to show for it. So, I gave her N50, 000 to buy things for herself.
“That was when she was pregnant of my first daughter. I had to rent a flat for them. I even assisted her brothers and sisters, when they needed some money. She fought me everyday and threatened to kill me. But I must say that I had both good and bad times with her.
“Our problem began when Juliet failed to treat me as her husband. Strange visitors, both men and women, usually filled her room. “I go to work at 1 pm and returned at about 4 am. I tried to stop them from visiting her but she told them not to listen to me, saying I was a stupid man. I took her to Lebanon and we spent about N1.5 million. I need my children. She made the children to bear another surname. They can bear Walid or Yatim but not Vincent. Vincent is my wife’s surname. I don’ t understand the meaning of that,” Yatim fumed.
The marriage certificate with registration number 103262 made available to Daily Sun showed that it was actually contracted at Apapa Local Government, Apapa, Lagos on March 24, 2005. Juliet, who is playing the cupid, has, however, debunked the allegation of attempted murder against her. Daily Sun also went to Apapa police station to inquire if Yatim reported any case of attempted murder or threat to his life against Juliet. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Mr. Mohammed Ali, a Chief Superintendent, who identified the couple, explained that it took him time to make peace between the couple.
Narrating what transpired between them, Juliet told Daily Sun on phone that Yatim abandoned her and the children and travelled to Lebanon where he stayed for about two years. According to her, during that period, he never cared to know whether the children were feeding or going to school. But Yatim denied the allegation, saying he was always giving her a monthly allowance of $700, which he claimed to have sent through the Western Union Money Transfer.
But when she was asked how she spent the money. Juliet screamed: “Yeeeh! Jesus Christ o! Which dollars? It’s a lie (laughs). Why did he treat me like that? Is it because I’m a Nigerian woman that made him think he could do anything and go scot-free?”
She continued: “When people come to Nigeria, they treat our women the way they like. I’ve not even seen him (Yatim) for four months now. Any way, if God says I will marry Mike Wood, why not? I will go ahead and marry him, he’s a good man.”
Meanwhile, Yatim has written a petition through his lawyer, George Ohioma Chambers, Apapa, to the office of the Special Adviser, Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development, Ikeja, dated November 26, 2010.
The letter, entitled: “Act capable of moral destruction of minor”, signed by the principal counsel of the chambers, George Ohioma, reads in parts:
“Our client informed us that the marriage which is blessed with two (2) children, namely, Serina and Sonia that has hitherto, been blissful suddenly got dramatic turn, when Mrs. Juliet Walid began to have extra –marital affairs with Mike Wood. Our client verily informed us that against his advice and or counsel, Mrs. Juliet Walid with other young girls, she termed sisters and or relations…smoking cigarette …doing other things and or act (s) in the presence of these minor is beginning to affect them negatively.”
When Daily Sun approached Mike Wood, a fleet manager in a company located on Wharf Road, Apapa, Lagos, he claimed that Juliet and her kids were abandoned by Yatim, when he travelled to Lebanon. He berated Yatim for allegedly abandoning his wife and two children. According to him, he only assisted Juliet and her children and prevented them from further sufferings. He claimed to have paid the children’s school fees, fed them and their mother, as well as provided a comfortable house for them to live in.
The Briton also disclosed that he bought one Honda CRV for Juliet. “I’ve been working here for the past 17 years. It’s very sad that he is making such allegation against me. We even discussed him at home. I’ve not even met him. The woman is very nice. She’s faithful and truthful to me. I’ve rented a house for her and the children. I ’m a good person.
They were married before and lived together but the man abandoned her and stayed in his country, Lebanon, without caring for his wife and children. The woman has found someone else. I did not know her until they parted ways for close to two years now. The woman has been taking good care of the children as far as I’m concerned. I’m helping her. I will continue to assist her. I love her. We will get married after she must have divorced the Lebanese.
The most important thing for the children is to get good education. That man couldn’t even pay their school fees. I’m a divorcee. I married in England. I’ve three children, two females and a male. They are all happily married,” he said. The Lebanese claimed to have arrived Nigeria six months ago, only to hear what he described as ‘rubbish’. And he said it was as a result of that, that he stopped giving his wife money. He has, however, vowed not to allow anybody claim his children in form of adoption as he has enough money to send them to school and feed them.
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