Mother & daughter arraigned for paternity fraud

The police have arraigned one Edith Bidokwu for allegedly defrauding a lawyer, who she claimed was the father of her two children.

It was learnt that the woman and the lawyer, Obaduemu Bright, had dated each other for 10 years until recently when a DNA test showed the two children she claimed to have had for him were not his.

Punch reported that Edith, who was arraigned alongside her 54-year-old mother, Mrs. Rita Bitokwu, had allegedly duped the lawyer to the tune of N1m under the guise of bringing up the children.

Our correspondent learnt that Edith, who lives on Ibitoye Street, Ajegunle, threatened to inform the lawyer’s wife of the relationship whenever he was unwilling to pay her.

Meanwhile, Bright was said to be aware that the woman was going out with other men, but could not raise the alarm to avoid trouble.

He, however, summoned up courage and challenged her on the legitimacy of the children on September 24, 2014 after he could not raise more than N170,000 of the rent which Edith and her mother allegedly requested from him.

He was said to have taken the children to a hospital where a DNA test reportedly revealed he was not their biological father.

A prosecutor, Olusoji Ojaokomo, preferred three counts of fraud against 32-year-old Edith and her mother.

The charges read in part, “That you, Edith Bidokwu and Rita Bidokwu, on September 24, 2014, at about 8pm on Ibitoye Street, Ajegunle, Lagos, in the Apapa Magisterial District, did conspire to commit felony to wit; obtaining money under false pretence and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The presiding magistrate, Mrs. O.I. Adelaja, granted them bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties each in like sum.