Veteran Nollywood actor Emeka Ike shared the story of how his estranged wife Suzanne Emma’s accusations led to him losing both his properties and access to his children.
Their marriage, which endured for 14 years and produced four children, was dissolved by a Lagos Island Customary Court in 2017 due to persistent battery, following Emma’s plea on July 13, 2015.
During an appearance on the Channels Television show Rubbin’ Minds hosted by Hero Daniels, Ike revealed that the assault allegations made by his ex-wife resulted in the loss of properties worth millions of naira. He explained his decision not to address the domestic violence accusations publicly, citing the social media backlash and harassment he faced from those scrutinizing him.
Ike said, “I didn’t come on the internet space to clarify the allegations against me because it’s difficult to clarify because the same people that were bullying me on the internet, they were still there. They are gonna say, ‘Don’t mind him. He is still missing her. Move on.’
“And if you’re not prepared to handle it, you will be crushed. My secondary school, St. Nicholas College, on CMD road, Magodo, was shut down. Over N480 million in investment that year was shut down. And all I heard was the constant battery. I was like, ‘I don’t beat this lady. What’s going on? Babe, what’s going on? They said I beat you, do I?’
“And she [my ex-wife] said, ‘No. But you’re a star, you know, they can always manipulate things and all that.’ So, I was gullible until I discovered that she was the one behind this whole thing. Some ladies are too desperate for marriage legally. And she told me one time that I am not the marriage type. And I didn’t understand it. So, the young men need to know that plenty ladies are not the marriage type lately.”
He said he sponsored his ex-wife’s higher education but didn’t know that he wasn’t “loved in return.”
The thespian said he and his family members begged his ex-wife not to divorce him, but she was adamant.
“She [my ex-wife] went to divorce herself. She said, ‘Judge, please, divorce me, I want to go.’ I said, ‘Kilode? Where are you going?’ I was on my knees. Felix Duke was on his knees. My sisters were on their knees in court. Even the people that came with my ex-wife to court were on their knees. They said, ‘Are you okay? What’s wrong with you?’ We didn’t understand what was going on in her psychology,” he recalled.
Ike said he believed his ex-wife was blackmailed by some “gunmen” she was involved with into divorcing him.
