Nigerian singer Paul Okoye and his wife Anita are officially divorced, following a decision made by an Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama.
The divorce comes a year after Anita petitioned for the dissolution of their marriage due to irreconcilable differences, including accusations of cheating, separation, absentee fatherhood, fraud, and difficult experiences.
In her petition, which was signed by lawyers Ojonimi Akpe and Okutepa J.S at an Abuja High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Anita claimed that she contributed N10 million ($27,500) as part of an agreement with her husband that she would be granted space at a mall he had recently completed in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. However, the mother of three accused Paul of cheating her out of the deal.
The petition stated: “That I know as a fact that the petitioner founded a company called TannkCo in 2019. That the petitioner and the respondent agreed to build a mall where TannkCo would have its main offices, and the petitioner contributed N10,000,000.00 (Ten Million Naira) for the purchase of the land and the building of the mall. That I know as a fact that the respondent, upon completion of the mall, reneged on the agreement and failed to give TannkCo a space in the mall.”
Despite these accusations, Anita decided to withdraw her claims and opt for a settlement, citing an alleged inability to prove all of the claims in her petition to the court. The details of the settlement were not disclosed.
In its judgment, the court granted joint custody of the couple’s three children to both parties on October 20, 2022. Paul and Anita got married in 2014 after dating for 10 years.
The divorce news comes days after Paul was seen with his new partner, Ifeoma Ivy.