By Isaac Ongiri & Catherine Mukei
The Nigerian High
Commisioner Chief Dr Chijioke Wilcox Wigwe yesterday denied battering his wife
Tess Iyi Igwe. His denial came as the couple's two children — 27-year-old Adda
and her 20-year-old brother Nelson — said they were in the house at the time of
the incident.
They heard a loud commotion
and when they emerged from their rooms, they found their parents arguing and
their mother with wounds on her face.
Interviewed by the Star at
the opening of the Nollywood Roadshow and fair which was being held at the
Safari Park Hotel to commemorate Nigeria’s Democracy Day and
celebrate the formal investiture of President Goodluck Jonathan for a new term
of four years, Wigwe dismissed as "fake" the photos of his wife's
injuries carried exclusively by the Star yesterday. “I’m really shocked that
the wife of an ambassador could degrade herself to this level. Those were
self-taken photos she took ten days ago in front of me and the two children she
claims took her to hospital,” he said in his exclusive interview with the Star.
Nelson contradicted his
mother's claim that he had come to her rescue. "I was in my room resting
when l heard a commotion. When l came out, l found the two of them arguing. I
do not know who or what happened."
Nelson and his sister said
they wanted to set the record straight and came to the Star offices to do this.
"The fact is, while the relationship between our parents has been tumultuous,
from past instances l feel that reports of the event are far from the
truth," said Nelson. Adda said she accompanied her mother and two of her
friends who arrived to take her to hospital.
In his interview,
Wigwe denied his wife's allegations that he had brought other women to the
matrimonial home. “Tess is only saying these things because she has a motive. I
know she wants money which unfortunately I don’t have; I’m just a humble civil
servant,” he said.
Wigwe admitted that he had
married two other women during the nine years he and his wife lived separate
lives as she went to the UK
to work. “It is normal in the African culture for a man have a woman by his
side but I don’t understand why a woman in her sound mind would go out talking
about her marriage life as if it was a do or die matter; this is not a Tiger
Woods tale!” said the diplomat who also serves as the representative of Nigeria
to the United Nations Environmental Programme and the UN Habitat in Nairobi. He
further revealed that apart from the five children with Tess, he has two others
from a previous marriage.
Wigwe denied claims that
the community had persuaded her to go back to him after nine years of
separation. “Everyone including our own children questioned me for taking her
back but I’m now paying the price having brought this to myself.”
The diplomat said their
marriage had been over for a long time for reasons that he was not ready to
disclose and that their appearances together were just to maintain the
"image."
Claiming the Star was
"unprofessional to run the story", Wigwe said his wife was capable of
anything and accused her of breaking into his bedroom and taking away some of
his Rolex watches. "I’m sure she is the one since she is the only one who
has the key to my bedroom,” he said but did not disclose whether he had
reported the loss of the items to the police.
The High Commission last
night issued a statement expressing deep concerns about the allegations against
the High Commissioner. "While refraining from commenting on the status of
the union of Chief Dr Chijoke Wilcox and Mrs Tess Iyi Wigwe, the Nigeria High
Commission wishes to assure the public that the allegations made against Dr
Wigwe are to the best of its knowledge, malevolent, far from the truth and
unsubstantiated."
The High Commission
stated that Dr Wigwe "did not have a history of physical violence"
and "did not assault his wife". "As a mission, we stand by the
High Commissioner as a man of peace and integrity, until it can be proved
otherwise," the statement said, adding that the diplomat had over 30 years
of "unblemished and meritorious service as an astute diplomat, a
distinguished academic and a visionary leader with outstanding and impeccable
career." "All we ask the public at this stage is to allow us time to
ascertain the truth of the matter, before his hard-earned reputation and
lifetime achievements are destroyed by these accusations," the statement
said adding that the High Commission would accord the relevant authorities the
cooperation and assistance required to get to the bottom of the matter.
Earlier yesterday, a woman
who spoke in deeply accented English and identified herself as Rhoda Akambi,
the High Commission's principal communication officer, said that Tess's
injuries were "fake".
Akambi said the bloodstains
and injuries seen on the face of the diplomat's wife was tomato sauce which she
had applied on herself in her attempt to blackmail the diplomat. “We are
concerned as a mission that the Kenyan media decided to embarrass the people of
Nigeria
by humiliating our ambassador His Excellency Chijioke. We want to confirm that
this was a private matter and it is an abomination to discuss Nigerian family
issues in the press,” Akambi said.
In Parliament, Acting
Foreign Affairs minister Prof George Saitoti said he would issue a ministerial
statement on the matter next Thursday. This followed a request from Nominated
MP Rachel Shebesh who wanted to know the status of the case as well as an
explanation of how the government intended to deal with envoys who commit
grievous crimes on Kenyan soil.
Deputy Police Spokesman
Charles Owino said the police were addressing the matter. “We are very
concerned about this matter. We just want to deal with it so that we have all
the details. We are however sorry that no report was made to any police station
and recorded at the occurrence book initially,” Owino said about the incident
which Tess said was reported to the Spring Valley
police station.
Last night, the Federation
of Women Lawyers of Kenya issued a statement signed by its chairperson Naomi
Wagereka condemning the incident and asking for the diplomat to be removed.
Fida asked the government
to declare Wigwe persona non grata (not welcome); arrest and prosecute him.
Fida asked the Nigerian government to withdraw Wigwe's diplomatic status and
immunity and provide immediate protection and care to his wife.
source: the star
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