It is doubtful that we will hear the last of the marital saga involving Senator Ned Nwoko and his estranged wife, Regina Daniels anytime soon. The marriage of the duo has been rocked by bitter face-offs and disputes engendered by grave accusations and heavy counteraccusations, ranging from drug abuse to domestic violence. The imbroglio has put the spotlight on the duo as they continue to dominate social media discourse and have also created a chasm between netizens who have since assumed the role of marriage arbiter and arrogated to themselves the authority to determine who the guilty party is between Nwoko and Daniels.
Over the weekend, the crisis rocking their marriage took a turn for the worse, with both parties releasing more damning and startling information about what transpired between them, resulting in a once-beautiful, lovely, and peaceful marriage turning into an embarrassingly painful spectacle and scandal-ridden union. In a separate statement released on Saturday and Sunday, both parties downplay the role they personally played in the misfortune that has befallen their marriage while at the same time chronicling and amplifying the actions of the other that led to the collapse of the union.
Nwoko, in a lengthy social media post, in which he chronicled his side of the story, disclosed how Regina Daniels’ brother, Sammy, on several occasions came to his house to foment trouble, disrupt the peace and serenity of his household as he harassed his children and domestic workers. According to him, he always acted in an aggressive, dangerous and reckless manner that put the safety of everyone in his house in danger. He disclosed that he sponsored the education of Sammy and helped him set up his music business, adding that he had sent over N125 million in upkeep to Rita Daniels, Regina’s mother.
The senator also claimed that Sammy, his girlfriend NK, one Lawrence, Destiny, Sonia, and others were the ones who introduced and supplied Regina Daniels with the illegal substance she became addicted to, which eventually led to her rehabilitation. According to him, they were deeply involved in the use of these substances themselves, and they would later become an albatross to Daniel’s rehabilitation and a peaceful, cleaner life not tainted by the smudge of drug addiction. He noted that he found their indulgence in immoral and socially unacceptable behaviours reprehensible.
In her rebuttal, the actress, who claimed that the drug addiction allegations have destroyed her life, stated that she trusted Nwoko so much that she entrusted him with her sex tape. The movie star said she hopes that the sex tape never gets leaked, adding that Nwoko had always been a step ahead of her negatively.
She said, “Yes, everyone, it is now history that Regina Daniels did drugs because that was what her husband wanted, believe it or not. Dearest ex-husband, thanks for breaking the crown you put on my head. No one knew us like us, and I trusted you with all of me, even with my sex tape, which I pray never sees the light. But you have always been a step ahead negatively. Foolish me! When I married you at 17, was I on drugs? I thank God for time. My name is ruined for now but I will rewrite my story! That narrative will be dead and gone.”
Daniel also stated that she was never married to her now estranged husband as their union did not have legal backing.
The actress admitted that she was battling drug addiction but that was not the cause of their dispute. He said their estrangement was a result of his alleged plan to deny her access to her loved ones. She noted that the drug issue was being exploited by Nwoko because it would make for a perfect story in the media.
Since the furore about the crisis in their marriage started, one narrative that has shaped and dominated the discourse about the saga is the controversy surrounding Daniels’ age when he married Nwoko. While some, who had deemed the union an aberration that should not have happened, claimed Nwoko married Daniels when she was 17, which was not up to the legally permissible age for a girl to marry in Nigeria. Others opined that she married the senator when she was nineteenth.
On Thursday, Nwoko debunked claims that he married Daniels when she was a teenager. To substantiate his claim, he shared the voter’s card of Daniels, which he claimed he collected from her after they met to ascertain the veracity of the age she claimed to be at the time. He disclosed that Daniels told him she was 21 years old when he first met her.
According to her voter’s card which he shared on social media to refute the claim of marrying an underage girl, Daniels was born on October 10 1998. The voter’s card was also registered in 2016, three years before their marriage, removing any doubt of shadiness on the part of Nwoko. If the personal information, especially the date of birth, contained in the voter’s card is anything to go by, then it is safe to conclude Nwoko married her when she was 21 and not 18 as being peddled by some persons on social media. That will also mean she is now 27 years old.
The sharing of this voter’s card should have ordinarily put the age controversy to bed if there were no other contradictory documents with conflicting information regarding Daniels’ date of birth and other persons’ information, which then raises questions about the authenticity of the details that are contained in the voter’s card.
According to the personal information on the voter’s card, her date of birth is 10/101998 with her government name being DANIELS REGINA, NNEAMAKA. But in a viral passport belonging to her, her date of birth was 10/10/2001. Her government on the passport is OJEOGWU REGINA NNEAMAKA FAVOUR.
Lesbianism allegation and the introduction of a co-wife to the drug
Nwoko’s Moroccan wife, Laila Charani, accused Daniels of introducing her to illicit drugs. In a recent post on Instagram after Daniels, she stated that it was her husband’s swift intervention that saved her and her marriage after she suffered drug addiction due to Daniels influence. Charani further accused Regina Daniels of lesbianism, claiming that she sleeps with girls.
Her allegations followed a claim by Daniels that her husband’s other wives were also into drugs. She also disclosed that the cause of the rift between Regina Daniels and their husband is because he wants her to stop drug and alcohol addiction, stressing that the lawmaker doesn’t smoke or take alcohol.
“You know too well that I almost lost my marriage when you introduced me to drugs 6 years ago and it was my husband’s quick insistence on intervention that rescued me from that dark path.
“You have been a bad influence since you married into this beautiful family, giving drugs to nannies and our workers, including your younger sister, Destiny. You infested everyone with your virus, and this is why I will not trust my daughters around you unsupervised, especially when I found out that you were sleeping with every single girl around you,” she wrote.
Charani urged Regina Daniels to seek psychological help and leave Ned Nwoko’s other wives out of her scandal with their husband. Regina Daniels is yet to react to Charani’s allegations.
The age controversy and lesbianism allegation have further exacerbated the troubling saga and undoubtedly deepened the crisis. The latest clutch of information and allegations may put Regina Daniels in a difficult and precarious situation that may turn the tide of public opinion against her. If she confirms the authenticity of the personal information in the voter’s card, then the claim of her getting married to Nwoko before she turned eighteen becomes spurious and baseless and easily debunked.
However, if she comes out to debunk the voter’s card as illegitimate and refute the genuineness and veracity of the information it contains, she will inadvertently be admitting to forgery, which she can be apprehended and prosecuted for by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). To wait it out and not speak or react at all to these documents, especially her voter’s card and the information in it, which has gone viral and has got tongues wagging on social media will be viewed by many as an implicit confirmation of Nwoko’s assertion regarding her age.
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