Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike made headlines of several media houses a few days ago, when the news that his wife of several years was parting ways with him, and seeking a divorce on the grounds of domestic abuse.
The actor in a recent chat with Punch Newspaper’s Saturday Beats, however denies being a ‘wife beater,’ claiming that he has never laid his hand on his wife, while confirming that his wife has indeed moved out of their home.
He also used the opportunity to appeal to her to come back back home, saying:
If my wife says I am a wife beater, the children would have witnessed such. I have a 14-year-old boy who is grown and has moustache now, you can ask him if I have ever beaten his mother. Never in my life have I raised my hand to beat my wife. I adore that woman and I love her a lot. If she wants to use my love against me, no problem and if people do not believe me, they should go to my former residence in Lagos to ask my neighbours if they ever heard that I beat my wife. Rather when my wife starts making noise like women normally do, I use that period to train my children. I would ask my children like this, ‘what do you do when a woman begins to nag at home?’ They would tell you that the next thing to do is pick your car keys and drive off. That is the normal training I give my sons so that they would never beat their wives. If my wife wants to leave me, she should have just said that it is due to irreconcilable differences and not that I am a wife beater. It would mean that she is trying to get unnecessary sympathy and I don’t think she would say such. When I showed my children what was on the internet, they were sad and said that it was a lie because I don’t beat their mother. I am a father of four children and I must protect them first before I even protect myself. That is why I would never say any bad thing about their mother. God would judge us all in life. Anyone who sees my wife should tell her to come back home to her children because they need her.
He further states that he has not gotten a letter from the court, so the news out there is mere speculation.
‘Every family has its challenges and people disagree over issues a lot. Marriage is not just about husband and wife but the children. I will not play with that mandate because my children are my prerogative and they have to be properly protected. Nobody should mess them up because of all these rumours’
