Lami Calista, the mother of Ilebaye Odiniya, has broken her silence over a viral audio recording in which she appeared to disown her daughter.
In the recording, Lami was heard saying, “Ilebaye, don’t look for me, because if I die today, you will have contributed to my death. Hold your father that you love so much.”
She added, “You’re always protecting your father, whom you love so much. I am not your mother. This is the end, even if I die, don’t look for me. I disown you today.”
However, in a video that has since gone viral, Lami said the audio was part of a strategy she and her daughter agreed on in response to ongoing family tensions involving Ilebaye’s father, Emmanuel Odiniya.
“I want to clear something that popped up yesterday about me abandoning her in that video. Yes, I made that video. I have my reasons for making that video,” she said.
“It was a planned work between I and my daughter to put out that video. The father is always saying it is Baye who is taking me out of his house.”
Lami further alleged that Emmanuel also forced their daughter out of the family home and demanded ₦30 million before allowing her to return.
“The father drove her out of the house, too, so that since I left, she should leave the house too. The father told her that before he could accept her back into the house, she had to give him N30 million. I came, and I begged him to allow her in, so that later she would give him the money,” she said.
Appealing to Nigerians not to judge her daughter, Lami said Ilebaye has been facing serious family challenges.
“I beg you people Nigerians, you people should not judge her, that girl has been through a lot. I am not coming out here to receive a pity vote from you people. I am here to tell the truth.
“If you were in her shoes, I don’t think you could take what she is taking. If you see she is not on social media, it is because she is battling with family issues at home.
“If not that she called for help, she would not have survived it that night. Thank you and God bless you.”
The controversy follows reports that Ilebaye was rescued from her home in Abuja in the early hours of Saturday and taken to the NNPC hospital after a distressing video showed the reality star crying and pleading for help, with visible swelling on her face.
The Nigeria Police Force subsequently arrested Emmanuel Odiniya over allegations of assault and said investigations are ongoing.
Emmanuel, however, said he was provoked during the family confrontation and insisted his actions were not motivated by hatred, but by frustration over what he described as changes in his daughter’s behaviour after her Big Brother Naija victory.
