The divorce case between Nollywood star Yul Edochie and his estranged wife, May Edochie, has taken a new turn as their lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye, shares fresh updates on the high-profile case.
The hearing at the FCT High Court in Abuja was unexpectedly delayed on 5 March 2024.
The court session did not proceed as planned, a circumstance Yul and Judy Austin attributed to their actions.
At the time, Yul Edochie denied marrying Judy, saying they were skitmakers. In May 2024, it was again adjourned to June because Yul and Judy’s lawyer wrote a letter to the court stating that he was unwell and would not be present in court.
In a dramatic legal development, the court held a compulsory conference as mandated by the Nigerian family law. This legal process requires both parties to engage in discussions, along with their lawyers, in an attempt to resolve at least some of the contested issues before the court.
Ugwuonye, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, provided a detailed breakdown of the proceedings:
He wrote:
DPA UPDATE ON THE DIVORCE CASE OF MARY YUL-ED0CHIE V. YUL EDOCHIE AND UCHECHUKWU JUDITH MUOGHALU (JUDY AUSTIN)
The court held a hearing on the case today. The issue before the court today was the report of the compulsory conference the court had ordered the parties to hold.
Just to explain for those who are not familiar with this aspect of the law. Compulsory conference or mandatory conference is part of the family law procedure under Nigerian law. When a husband and his wife come to court for divorce, the court has a duty to direct the parties and their lawyers to meet and hold a conference between the two sides. The purpose of this conference is to give the parties the opportunity to try to reach an agreement on some, if not all, the disputed issues before the court. A successful conference will resolve some of the issues. For example, the parties may agree on how to share their marital properties. Whatever they agreed will be conveyed to the court through the Report of Conference. If they do not agree, they should also inform the court. If they don’t agree, the court may ask them to go back and hold more talks.
Last time the case came up, the parties informed the court that the parties had not filed their report. That meant that the discussions they held were not conclusive or that they could not reach an agreement. The court gave them time to present their report. That was the business of today.
Today, after hearing that the parties still had discrepancies, the court granted them more time to hold another conference virtually to see if they would agree. The hearing will continue in March, and the court is expecting to receive at the next hearing a report or a clear indication that the parties failed to reach an agreement on anything. That will guide the court in setting the direction of the trial.
This update is simply an objective summary of the present state of this case. It is not meant to present the view of any one side. We give this report in order to avoid having to answer questions individually as to where the case stands now.
NOTE: Judy’s involvement in the case is because she is accused of committing adultery with Yul.
The court expects to receive an updated report during the next hearing scheduled for March. If the parties continue to disagree, the court will then decide the direction of the trial.
This latest update comes as May Edochie continues to push for legal resolution regarding her marriage, while Judy Austin’s involvement in the case remains a key point of contention. She stands accused of committing adultery with Yul Edochie and falsely claiming to be married to him despite his legal ineligibility for a second marriage.
With tensions running high, all eyes are now on the next court date to see whether the estranged couple will reach any form of settlement or if the case will escalate into a full-blown courtroom battle.