Alleged attempted murder: Police to re-arraign Fani-Kayode’s estranged wife

A Federal High Court, Abuja has fixed Friday for the re-arraignment of Precious Chikwendu on allegations bordering on attempted murder of her former husband, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and children. Chikwendu, alongside others, will be re-arraigned by the police authorities before Justice Inyang Ekwo on a 14-count charge. Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter shortly after the police prosecutor, John Ijagbemi, applied for the amended charge to be read to defendants for them to take their plea. But the judge said that the re-arraignment would not go on today. He then adjourned the case until Friday for their pleas to be taken. Other defendants in the trial include Emmanuel Anakan, Prisca  Chikwendu and Osakwe Azubuike as 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants respectively, while others are said to be at large. The four defendants were earlier arraigned before the court on Feb. 14 on 13 counts. According to reports,  Fani-Kayode, the former Minister of Aviation, was the nominal complainant in the matter. But in an amended charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/01/2022 dated and filed by John Ijagbemi on behalf of Commissioner of Police, FCT Command on April 22,, the ex-wife was said to have committed attempted culpable homicide on Nov. 24, 2018. She was alleged to have carried two kitchen knives threatening to kill Fani-Kayode, the children and other occupants of the house at Asokoro within the court jurisdiction. An offence said to be punishable under Section 229 of the Penal Code Law. She was also accused of making false allegations on Nov. 24, 2018 with doctored pictures with intent to deceive members of the public and make them believe that the injuries in the pictures were inflicted on her by her ex-husband. Besides, Chikwendu was alleged to have “criminally uploaded doctored/photo-shopped pictures” of her biological child, Liam Femi Fani-Kayode, who was four years old, in order to deceive Reyes members of the public that the child sustained injury on his forehead. According to the charge, the offence is punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention Etc) Act 2015. The defendants were further alleged to have committed offences bordering on cybercrime, intimidation to kill the former minister by use of Internet. They were also alleged to have criminally used internet to send abusive messages with intent to bully, defame and harass her ex-husband. They were alleged to have fabricated false evidence by deposing to series of affidavits that Chief Fani-Kayode physically and sexually assaulted members of his domestics staff in inhuman conduct by causing same to be electronically published in a national daily. Chikwendu was also alleged to have, through her Facebook page, referred to Fani-Kayode as “Mr Short Fuse,” on Dec. 7, 2021, among others. In a related development, NAN also reports that the ex-wife was, on March 10, arraigned before a sister court presided over by Justice Obiora Egwuatu on alleged defamation of character filed by former lawmaker, Sen. Grace Bent. Chikwendu, who was accused of infidelity by the former minister, was also said to have withdrawn various civil cases filed against Fani-Kayode. Although the duo had parted ways, the former minister said Chikwendu had always been given access to her children under closed supervision due to her alleged mental challenges which could result to hurting the children. Fani-Kayode had also alleged that the ex-beauty queen stopped calling the children on telephone for some months now contrary to her habit in the past.