PORTHARCOURT Appeal Court Upholds N5m Adultery Fine Against Popular OAP Daddy Freeze

By: Abdulwasiu Akintunde 

A Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, the Capital of Rivers State, has upheld the fine imposed on popular Nigerian On-Air Personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, for committing adultery. 

OPEN TELEVISION Naija reports that on February 18, 2021, a High Court in Port Harcourt ordered Daddy Freeze to pay N5 million for committing adultery with Benedicta Elechi. 

According to the Certified True Copy of the judgment, dated June 26, 2024, the three-man panel of Justices Abubakar Talba, Danlami Senchi, and Hannatu Balogun dismissed Daddy Freeze’s appeal for lack of merit. 

The payment was to be made to Paul Odekina, who was married to Elechi at the time of the affair.

The judgment read, “The sum of N5,000,000 is awarded against Ifedayo Olarinde as damages for depriving the Cross Petitioner of the amiable consort of his wife and for injury suffered as a result of his adultery with the Petitioner/Cross Respondent.” 

The court also dissolved the marriage between Paul and Benedicta due to her adulterous relationship with Daddy Freeze. 

Dissatisfied with the High Court’s judgment, Daddy Freeze sought redress from the appellate court.

Daddy Freeze’s main grounds of appeal were that Odekina did not attempt to serve him personally before applying for substituted service, violating Order 7 Rule 2 of the Rules of the Trial Court. 

He also argued that the purported service by substituted means, specifically by courier, was not effective as indicated in the affidavit of service, adding that the non-service violated the principle of natural justice. 

The court ruled that if the appellant wanted to overturn the trial court’s judgment due to non-service, he should have filed a counter-affidavit against the affidavit of service and then sought to set aside the trial court’s judgment. 

The judgment partly read, “Affidavit evidence can only be countered by a counter-affidavit. As such, I found the procedure adopted by the appellant alien to our jurisprudence.”

"If the Appellant wanted the trial court's judgment to be set aside for non-service, he should have approached the trial court by filing a counter-affidavit against the affidavit of service he seeks to set aside, and consequently set aside the trial court's judgment." 

OPEN TELEVISION further gathered that in this appeal, the Appellant did not file anything to counter the affidavit of service filed by the Process Server. Therefore, I resolve the sole issue for determination against the Appellant and in favor of the Respondents. The appeal lacks merit and is hereby dismissed. 

"Accordingly, the judgment of the Rivers State High Court in Suit No. PHC/403MC/2012 delivered on February 18, 2021, by J. Akpughunum is hereby affirmed. I make no order as to costs."