A cheating Nigerian-born GP who led a double life with two women for seven years and promised to marry both of them one month apart hanged himself when his secret was exposed, an inquest heard.
Dr
Festus Ojagbemi, 49, known as ‘Wally’, who had a surgery in Strood,
Kent, lived with long-term partner Jackie Hammond in the week and lover
Bamidele Ayeni on weekends - for seven years.
He
fathered a child with Miss Ayeni - a popular Nigerian singer known as
Dele Achiever (pictured above) - and said he would wed them both, while racking up
thousands of pounds worth of debt taking them on holidays.
But when the secret was discovered by
Miss Hammond he stabbed himself twice in the chest at his surgery, St
Mary’s Medical Centre, the inquest was told. But he survived that
attempt on his life.
While recovering in hospital he told
police and both women he was attacked by a stranger. But he eventually
confessed the truth to officers - only to take his own life four days
later on February 12.
Miss Hammond later found him at the
detached house they shared in Hempstead, Kent. A note signed with his
nickname was on the TV cabinet near where he was found in the
conservatory.
The cost of leading the double life
emerged after his death, the inquest in Maidstone, Kent, heard. Miss
Hammond said a credit card firm phoned after he died, claiming he owed
them £10,000.
She said: ‘I
started phoning and everyone told me how much he owed them. By the time
we got to the 10th or 11th, the bill was huge. We just couldn’t get our
heads around it.
‘I work, I get paid, so we don’t talk about finances. If we go on holiday he would be the one that pays.’
The couple had planned their wedding for this May after almost 20 years together.
Miss
Hammond said he killed himself because he felt guilty after the double
life was uncovered, adding: ‘He just wanted me to notice he was hurting
because of what he had done to me.’
Miss
Ayeni did not appear at the inquest but the hearing was told of
evidence she gave to police. She claimed Dr Ojagbemi proposed last
October and that they were planning a wedding in April.
They had a child, he rented a flat for them, visited on weekends and they would talk six or seven times a day, she said.
Miss
Ayeni, who sings Juju and pop music, said she knew about the other
partner, but he told her he ‘did not love her any more’. She told
officers: ‘I would call him “baby” because he was my baby. I would also
call him my "husband".
‘He’s intelligent, loving, caring, he
buys me lots of things. Why would he do this to himself? Wally told me
not to give anyone the news that we were getting married in April
because everyone would go on about it.’
The court heard how the doctor, who
also had two other children to two other women, had been off sick from
work since December 2011, suffering from high blood pressure and
vertigo.
The inquest was
also told he had called Miss Ayeni on the day he died to tell her he
loved her - and even discussed a wedding photographer with Miss Hammond
on the morning he killed himself.
Recording
a verdict of suicide, assistant deputy coroner Gail Elliman, said: ‘I
am satisfied Dr Ojagbemi took his own life. I won’t go into any
speculation about the reasons for doing so.’
Culled from Daily Mail