Posted by By JACOB EDI, Abuja on
Lawyers for Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo are reaching out to an American court in an attempt to quash an order seeking her arrest in a child kidnapping case.
Lawyers for Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, daughter of former president Olusegun Obasanjo are reaching out to an American court in an attempt to quash an order seeking her arrest in a child kidnapping case.
Court officials said they have received a letter from attorney representing Senator Obasanjo- Bello on ways to resolve the issue. 'We are encouraged that she is reaching out to the court and we encourage this because in the end, the case is about the well-being of the child," a court clerk said.
Sources said her lawyers are arguing that there was no ill-intent in taking her child with her to Nigeria and therefore does not qualify as kidnapping. 'She argues that the child in question is her's and was taken to Nigeria to be cared for, and the court is sympathetic to that argument," the official added. A North Carolina District Court declared her wanted and instituted a contempt charges for failing to honour a summons issued by the judge.
A District Court clerk justified the decision because the child in dispute is an American citizen. 'When an America citizen is kidnapped, the FBI is invited to investigate the case and that is what is going on in this process," the clerk said. According to court officials, Senator Obasanjo-Bello is wanted for kidnapping and taking away her son after another court had awarded custody to her estranged husband. Filed papers revealed that Iyabo Obasanjo married Akeem Bello in September 1999.
The marriage was dissolved in 2003. Mr. Akeem Bello then asked for custody of the product of the marriage, Jimi Bello. Officials said on July 27, 2004, Iyabo took Jimi Bello from Akeem Bello's home in Pittsboro and left for Nigeria without court authorization. The court has requested local, state and international law enforcement officers to arrest Obasanjo-Bello on sight.