Marital Dispute: Court extends Social Welfare’s interim custody of 8-year-old

The Family Court sitting successful Calabar has extended the interim custody of an eight-year-old boy, granted to the Cross River State Ministry of Social Welfare, pending the determination of a quality betwixt his parents.

Presiding judge, Justice Blessing Egwu, gave the bid during proceedings successful a suit marked HC/FC/13/2026, involving Mr. Edmund Oka Ujong, a Deputy Registrar successful the Cross River State Judiciary, arsenic applicant, and Ms. Wofai Bassey Etim, arsenic respondent.

The quality centres connected the custody of the child, with some parents — who person 2 different children unneurotic — accusing each different of abducting the boy.

At the resumed hearing, some parties urged the tribunal to assistance them custody of the child.

However, the justice expressed displeasure with counsels to some parties for filing caller motions connected the eve of the hearing, a improvement the tribunal said delayed proceedings and stalled advancement toward resolution.

The tribunal noted that the last-minute filings hindered its quality to instrumentality substantive steps successful the matter, informing against specified practices.

Counsel to the responsive explained that their motion, filed connected March 30, 2026, was to alteration them respond adequately, confirming work of a counter-affidavit and seeking clip to reappraisal processes earlier the court.

Similarly, counsel to the applicant, James Ibor, t...