She vowed to resist attempts to deny her of the boy’s custody even as she gave reasons why she and her children are not living with her husband, Mr. Osaigbovo Oikhena.
She confirmed that her son does not want to see his father, a claim National Mirror obtained from sources at the family meeting with state governor, Adams Oshiomhole and the State Security Service, SSS, Director in Edo State, Mr. Bello Bakori.
The sources alleged that the boy begged the governor and the SSS boss not to allow him meet his father.
Evelyn, a mother of four, who spoke with journalists, accused her husband of deserting her when she had a problem with a microfinance bank, Lift Above Poverty Organisation, LAPO, over her inability to repay the loan facility granted her.
Mr. Oikhena resurfaced at the Government House on Tuesday just before Governor Oshiomhole began a meeting with the director of the SSS, officials of the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development as well as the mother of the boy, apparently to be included in plans to rehabilitate the stowaway boy.
He later related his side of the story after he was excluded from the meeting, in which he accused his wife of stubbornly refusing to pack with him to a new location after the loss of his commercial bus driving job.
But in her response, Evelyn said she had problem with the microfinance bank when she was robbed in one of her business trips from Koko in Delta State sometime last year. In the heat of the problem, she said her husband abandoned her and the children to live with his mother.
She further accused her husband of severe physical assault that has resulted in injury to one of her eyes. The effect, she added, was the poor vision she now suffers owing to severe beatings by him.
Evelyn vowed not to reconcile with him soon, a statement that has poured cold water on the move that our correspondent exclusively gathered was being made by the state government to reconcile the estranged couples.
She accused her husband and his family members of constantly disturbing her with telephone calls since the media announced that De RAUFs, an Osun Statebased non-governmental organisation, has decided to offer Daniel scholarship up to university level, now seeking to share the limelight with her.
National Mirror also gathered from the meeting that there was an argument between the governor, the SSS director and officials of the ministry on the issue of who should take custody of Daniel.
It was learnt that Governor Oshiomhole favoured a situation where the mother would take custody of her son, a position that was opposed by others.
Evelyn said; “The question you people should ask him is whether he knows the private school Daniel was attending before I transferred him to a public school at Ogbe.
He abandoned us. He and his family have been disturbing me with several calls since they heard that Daniel has been given scholarship.
“I will resist any attempt to deprive me of the custody of my son. If it happens, I will ask them to detain me along with him. I am not after the scholarship money. All that I am after is to see that my son is released to me.”
On why she did not give SSS her husband’s contact, She stated that when Daniel was missing, he said that; “I should go and look for his son.” It was learnt that the government has decided to keep the boy its custody.
Meanwhile, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has commended the SSS for promptly releasing the stowaway boy to the Edo State government.
ANEEJ Executive Director, Rev David Ugolor, in a signed statement said: “From what we have gathered so far, Daniel Ohikhena’s ability to beat all the airport security networks exposes the poor state of our aviation sector.
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