The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt has upheld the fine imposed on well-known Nigerian on-air personality Ifedayo Olarinde, also known as Daddy Freeze, for engaging in adultery. On February 18, 2021, a High Court in Port Harcourt ordered Daddy Freeze to pay N5 million for engaging in adultery with one Benedicta Elechi. The money was to be paid to Paul Odekina, who was married to Elechi at the time of the adulterous act. “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.
The court also annulled the marriage contracted between Paul and Benedicta owing to her adulterous act with Daddy Freeze. https://punchng.com/high-court-fines-daddy-freeze-n5m-for-adultery/?amp Not pleased with the High Court’s verdict, Daddy Freeze petitioned the appellate court for redress.
The primary grounds of Daddy Freeze’s appeal were that Order 7 Rule 2 of the Trial Court’s Rules was broken by Odekina’s failure to personally serve him prior to filing for substituted service.
Additionally, he held that the alleged substituted method of service—by courier, as demonstrated by the affidavit of service—was ineffective and that the failure to serve violates the two fundamental tenets of the natural justice principle.
The three-person panel made up of Justice Abubakar Talba, Danlami Senchi, and Hannatu Balogun denied Daddy Freeze’s appeal for lack of merit, according to the Certified True Copy of the judgment, dated June 26, 2024, that our correspondent was able to secure on Friday.
The appellant should have submitted a counter-affidavit against the affidavit of service and then sought to set aside the trial court’s verdict, the court decided, if he wished to overturn the judgment due to non-service. If the appellant wishes to have the trial court’s judgment set aside due to non-service, he should have filed a counteraffidavit with the trial court opposing the affidavit of service he is trying to have set aside, which would have set aside the trial court’s verdict. As a result, the Appellant has not submitted anything in the current appeal to refute the Process Server’s affidavit of service, which was filed.
“Hence, therefore I resolved the sole issue for determination against the Appellant and in favour of the Respondents. The appeal consequently lacks merit and it is hereby dismissed
In light of this, the ruling rendered by J. Akpughunum on February 18, 2021, in Rivers State High Court’s lawsuit PHC/403MC/2012, is hereby upheld. I do not rank the costs.
According to the CTC of the ruling, Ola Faro and Ikobah Hilton appeared for the appellant while N.A. Naenwi and Wilcox Abereton (SAN) represented the first and second respondents respectively.
