The Children of a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), and his wife, Mrs. Ranti Daudu, refuted news report linking their father to the death of their mother.
Late Mrs. Daudu, who was also a lawyer, was estranged from her husband three years before her death. He had instituted a divorce suit against her, and she was slated to appear before a Kaduna court last Thursday when she died at the age of 54 on the same day after she suddenly fell sick the previous day.
After her death, some persons believed to be close to the estranged couple made claim suggesting she was a victim of domestic violence.
A claim, the media hugely reported, the couple’s six children have, however, denied it in a statement jointly signed by two of them, Paul and Benedict.
The bereaved children paid tributes to their late mother and threatened to sue those behind the reports linking their father to her death.
The statement reads in part, “We are still in pain at loss of our beloved mother who meant the world to us. We may be in mourning at this time, but this in no uncertain terms should on any account be mistaken for weakness as we the children will not hesitate to take all necessary steps against all and sundry who publish defamatory remarks aimed solely at tarnishing our family name and indeed the image of our dearly departed mother.
“We categorically debunk such fallacious rumours which are to the effect that our dear mother died as a result of years of being subject to domestic violence for a period of 28 years are published by several blogs and social media outlets.
“We reiterate to the contrary that we all grew up in a loving environment where we first hand witnessed the affection of both of our parents who within that period made tremendous effort to ensure all of us were raised to achieve our full academic potential and discipline.
“We are not unmindful that as with any marriage of 33 years, our parents’ marriage had its ups and down as disagreements are inevitable in any relationship talk less about a marriage of that length. However, this never ever at any point whatsoever disintegrated into any form of domestic violence as being painted in certain social media publications.
“The last four years of the marriage was a difficult experience for all us as we witnessed for the first time the painful experience of our parents living apart for that entire period.
“However, through it all, we stood by both parents and never took sides. We made all efforts humanly possible to ensure both of them settled amicably but unfortunately to no avail.”
