Adultery: Appeal Court Upholds N5m Fine Against Daddy Freeze

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has affirmed the judgment against Daddy Freeze (Ifedayo Olarinde) for adultery.

Previously, Daddy Freeze was ordered by the Rivers State High Court to pay N5 million to Paul Odekina, whose wife, Benedicta Elechi, had committed adultery with him. The marriage was also ended due to Benedicta’s infidelity.

“The sum of N5,000,000 is awarded against Ifedayo Olarinde (the 2nd Cross Respondent to the Cross Petition) as damages for depriving the Cross Petitioner of the amiable consort of his wife (Petitioner/1st Cross Respondent) and for injury suffered as a result of his adultery with the Petitioner/Cross Respondent,” the court held.

Daddy Freeze filed an appeal, claiming that he was not properly served with court papers and that the courier service was ineffective.

However, a three-man appeal panel denied his appeal for lack of merit, arguing that if he wished to overturn the judgement based on non-service, he could have filed a counter-affidavit and tried to set it aside.

It says, “Affidavit evidence can only be countered by a Counter Affidavit. As such, I found the procedure adopted by the Appellant alien to our jurisprudence.

“Where the Appellant wants the judgment of the trial court to be set aside for non-service, he ought to have approached the trial court by filing a Counter affidavit against the affidavit of service he seeks to set aside and consequently set aside the judgment of the trial court. Thus, as it is in the instant appeal there is nothing filed by the Appellant to counter the affidavit of service of the Process Server filed in

“Hence, therefore, I resolved the sole issue for determination against the Appellant and in favour of the Respondents. The appeal therefore lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed

“Accordingly, the judgment of the Rivers State High Court in Suit No. PHC/403MC/2012 delivered on the 18th February 2021 by J. Akpughunum, is hereby affirmed. I make no order as to costs.”