Secrets Reporters
An ongoing series of investigations into the life of a public office holder is unearthing a can of worms, such that will make for a Hollywood blockbuster film, depicting the behind the scenes of banks boardroom politics.
Copies of judicial documents obtained from the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory have blown open a well-kept, explosive scandal involving one of Nigeria’s most powerful financial regulators. Emem Nnana Usoro, the current Deputy Governor for Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was deeply entangled in a damning matrimonial legal battle, where she was formally cited as a co-respondent for committing adultery with a married man.
The multi-million Naira legal action, filed under Suit No: FCT/HC/PET/251/2019, outlines a jaw-dropping narrative of infidelity, power, and deceit that has surfaced from her days as a high-ranking executive at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc.
The explosive cross-petition was instituted by Mrs. Grace Wesley, the lawful wife of Mr. Edirin Jerry Wesley who’s now late, even though the court case was filed when he was alive.
According to the court papers filed by The Summit Chambers from Minna, Niger State, Mrs. Wesley specifically cross petitioned the court for a decree of Dissolution of Marriage with her husband on the unyielding grounds that the union had broken down irretrievably due to open desertion and continuous adultery with Emem Etuk Usoro. The husband Jerry had gone to court to file for divorce which SecretsReporters will report on his reasons subsequently in the course of its expose.
The court filing lays bare a disturbing account of domestic displacement, detailing how the apex bank chief aggressively penetrated the sanctuary of a subsisting marriage that had been consecrated across international borders. According to the cross-petition, Mrs. Wesley accused Usoro of engaging in an adulterous relationship with her husband while their statutory marriage remained legally valid. She alleged that despite being fully aware that Mr. Wesley was lawfully married, Usoro entered into an intimate relationship with him, resulting in children during the subsistence of the marriage. The petitioner maintained that the alleged affair contributed significantly to the irretrievable collapse of her marriage.
Court filings further disclosed that Mrs. Wesley sought damages against Usoro for the alleged adultery and urged the court to restrain her from presenting herself as the lawful wife of Mr. Wesley. The petitioner insisted that her marriage had not been dissolved and remained legally binding throughout the period in question, making any contrary representation misleading and unlawful.
A ThisDay newspaper publication of March 8th 2021 obtained by SecretsReporters also show that Mrs. Wesley filed a strongly-worded public notice following the death of her husband, warning the public against recognising Usoro as his widow. In the notice, she declared that she “is and remains the legal wife of late Mr. Edirin Jerry Wesley,” stating that they were traditionally married in Nigeria on July 31, 2004, before formalising the union in Bergamo, Italy, on May 14, 2005.
Mrs. Wesley maintained in the publication that the marriage endured until the death of Mr. Wesley and asserted that she remained his lawful widow “unless legally proven to the contrary.” She specifically accused Usoro of parading herself as the deceased’s lawful wife and cautioned her to desist from making such representations. The notice equally advised members of the public against dealing with Usoro as the widow of the deceased unless a competent court ruled otherwise.
The cross-petition equally alleged that the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Wesley had “broken down irretrievably” due to desertion and adultery involving the second respondent. The filing asked the court to take judicial notice of the alleged conduct and grant appropriate reliefs, including compensation for the claimed matrimonial wrongs. The available court documents, however, do not indicate the final determination of the allegations, and the claims remained matters presented before the court.
Since the events that gave rise to the litigation, Emem Usoro’s professional career has continued to flourish. A seasoned banker with more than two decades of experience in commercial banking and financial services, she joined the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2011, rising to the position of Executive Director for Northern Operations.
In 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed her as Deputy Governor for Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria, an appointment subsequently confirmed by the Senate on September 26, 2023. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and has been recognised for initiatives promoting financial inclusion and literacy.
Recently, this online media revealed how Emem bought a N1.4 Billion California Luxury Condo and another N3.6bn Los Angeles Property which she concealed from her asset declaration form.
To be continued