Man Who Was Stopped From Seeing Biological Child Wins Court Case: "She Told My Son I Was Dead"
- A young Nigerian man who was arrested multiple times for trying to see his biological son has opened up about his experience
- He explained how the child's mother repeatedly denied him access to see his son over the years
- The young man also shared what happened in court and the order the judge gave to the child's mother
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A Nigerian man who fathered a child 17 years ago but was prevented by the child's mother from seeing the child has shared his experience.
He explained that the incident happened many years ago and that on several occasions, the child's mother stopped him from seeing the child. He also alleged that she had him arrested several times whenever the child came to visit him.
Source: Getty Images
According to him, after she repeatedly had him arrested whenever the child ran to him, the child, now 17 years old, eventually returned to him.
The matter later went to court, where the judge confirmed him as the biological father and ordered that the child's surname be changed to his.
After the Man’s story, Legit.ng contacted Ifeoluwa Abolade, Esq., for insight on the matter, and she shared her thoughts.
When asked what a court would consider when deciding whether a father should have access to a child, Ifeoluwa, Esq., said:
“Okay, so first of all, I think you should know that access is not custody. So, the parents can have custody over a child, while the other parent might have access to the child. Access basically means you can visit the child and speak to the child. While denying access to a child means that you are not allowed to see the child. It’s kind of like a restraining order, but with the child now."
“What factors would the court consider? So, it depends, like I said before, on the facts of the case. The court will consider the welfare of the child, the developmental needs of the child, and the parents’ schedules. For example, a parent who goes to work at 6 a.m. and comes back at 8 p.m. may probably not be the best fit for a child. So, the court looks at that particular case, that particular child, and what would be best for the child."
“Here is a child that is very young and needs a lot of attention, while there is a child that is older and needs less attention. You have to take all those things into consideration to determine who should have custody or access."
“For access, you also have to determine if the person has a prior history of abusing a child, whether allowing access to the child will affect the child negatively, or whether denying access will benefit the child more than allowing the parent to have access. These are the things that the courts look at.”
She also spoke about what the court may do if the mother or woman refuses to obey a court order after access to or custody of the child has been granted to the father.
“So, yeah, there’s something called enforcement of judgment. Once a court makes a judgment and somebody goes against it, the other party can bring an application for enforcement."
“So, if the court says the father has access and the mother interferes with the father’s access, the father will come to court with an application for enforcement of the court’s judgment. The court will determine what mode is best to enforce the judgment that it made."
“The court may find that if you continue to refuse access, your custodial rights may be affected, or the court may first look at the best way to enforce the judgment. There are various remedies available, and the court will look at what is best in the circumstances before enforcing its judgment.”
Watch the video of the man below:
Baby mama takes man to court
Meanwhile, Legit.ng recently reported that a man said a court ordered him to pay just $13 a month in child support after his baby mama took him to court.
The man said he had been giving her $300 every week and paying all daycare expenses before he ran into financial difficulties. After the court reviewed the case, including his custody arrangement and financial support, it ordered him to pay $13 monthly, a decision that sparked reactions on social media.
Source: Legit.ng
