Tunde Ayeni petitions ex-mistress Adaobi Alagwu, bars her child from bearing his name

It is the third time Mr Ayeni publicly denies fathering a love child, a daughter, with Ms Alagwu, popularly known as an ex-contestant in The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant in 2014.

Nigerian businessman Tunde Ayeni, who has been entangled in a messy paternity tussle with his ex-mistress, an Abuja-based lawyer, Adaobi Alagwu, has written the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to invalidate any international passport bearing his name presented by Ms Alagwu and her child.

Mr Ayeni, through his legal representative Dele Adesina, emphasised that Ms Alagwu’s daughter is not entitled to use his name on her travel document, citing a lack of familial relationships between them.

The former chairperson of the defunct Sky Bank disclosed this in a “Cease” legal notice he sent to her titled, “Withdrawal of Consent for Use of the Family Name ‘Ayeni’ With Respect To Your Daughter Omarosa.”

It is the third time Mr Ayeni publicly denies fathering a love child, a daughter, with Ms Alagwu, popularly known as an ex-contestant in The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant in 2014. She was disqualified from the pageant.

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Mr Ayeni denied the claims in a press statement released in March 2023 but confirmed that he was in a relationship with Ms Alagwu that ended in 2019.

His second rebuttal in August 2023 came on the heels of his wife, Abiola Ayeni’s viral interview wherein she said God gave her a revelation about the infidelity scandal that almost wrecked her marriage of 31 years.

Addressing the scandal that almost wrecked her marriage, Mrs Ayeni said that God revealed to her that her husband never fathered a child with the ex-beauty queen. 

However, Ms Alagwu pronounced Mr Ayeni as the father of her lovechild and adopted his name for the latter. But the billionaire magnate decisively squashed her plot, particularly the adoption of his name by her and her daughter.

Cease and Desist Letter

In his recent letter, Mr Ayeni’s lawyers commended him for taking a stand against a standard issue affecting wealthy individuals.

Mr Ayeni’s lawyers’ letter addressed to Ms Alagwu read, “We act as solicitors to Dr J. O. Ayeni and Mrs Abiola Ayeni, hereinafter referred to as ‘our clients’ and on whose firm instructions we write you this ‘CEASE and DESIST’ letter. You may recall an earlier letter we wrote regarding the relationship between your good self and our client dated the 30th of June 2023.”

“In the course of one of the conferences held at the Police station, we consider your narrative, which resulted in your alluding to your daughter with a United States Passport No: (withheld) in the name of Omarosa Abimbola Ayeni as our client’s daughter to be highly disrespectful, disingenuous, and to say the least, unacceptable to our clients. It is surprising to learn that you have credited this remark.

‘‘Despite the well-published series of disclaimers of fatherhood by our Dr J.O. Ayeni, you could still dishonestly be making such unacceptable and untruthful remarks in your desperate attempt to confuse the unsuspecting public in respect of the fatherhood of your daughter, which our Dr J.O. Ayeni vehemently denies.”

The letter also referred to an incident in January wherein she (Alagwu) illegally entered into one of Mr Ayeni’s properties in Abuja, which she had surrendered to him six months earlier.

Expressing surprise at Ms Alagwu’s persistence in the face of public disclaimers of fatherhood, the letter deemed her actions unacceptable and untruthful. The legal team urged her to pursue a more dignified, peaceful resolution with the Ayeni family.

The letter hinted at a possible misrepresentation by Ms Alagwu in the past, leading to gestures of goodwill from Mr Ayeni, which they said he has since officially withdrawn. The legal document concluded with a firm stance that no such gestures would be extended to Ms Alagwu or her daughter in the present or future.

It reads, “We do not intend to speculate but wish to state that our client does not understand why you will continue this pattern of falsehood rather than a dignified way of allowing our client’s family to be in peace. Should your behaviour have any connection with the good nature of our client that may have been extended to you in the past, we wish to state that it may have been a result of the misrepresentation created by you in the past when our client did not take steps to check out facts credited to you and as such has since been withdrawn and no such gesture will ever emanate from our client to you or your daughter either now or in the future.”

Mr Ayeni is a Nigerian lawyer, investor, and business magnate. He holds board positions in companies throughout Nigeria. Ms Alagwu, on the other hand, is the Managing Partner at Airbridge Solicitors & Advisory Services, an Abuja-based law firm.

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