A Nigerian father has gone viral after sharing a deeply emotional and troubling account of how his wife vanished without a trace for ten years, only to return and demand custody of the children she abandoned.

In a series of posts by @phveektordrayne on X (formerly Twitter), the man alleged that his wife left their home a decade ago, claiming she was travelling to Abuja to visit her sister. That was the last he saw of her.

He explained that he later discovered she hadn’t just travelled out of town but had left the country. What was more heartbreaking, according to him, was that her parents and siblings were aware but chose to remain silent.

Ten years later, she reappeared, not with an apology or explanation, but with plans to take the children abroad.

How my wife abandoned us for ten years

“Ten years ago, my wife told me she was traveling to Abuja to visit her sister. That was the last time I saw her. We didn’t fight. There was no argument. No warning. She just… vanished. She left behind three children, the youngest barely a year and six months old. I waited: Days, then weeks, hoping to hear something. A message. A reason. Anything.

“Then I found out from one of her colleagues that she didn’t just leave the city, she left the country. Her parents knew. Her siblings knew. They all kept quiet. She abandoned her home. Her marriage. And her own children. Without a single word.

“That day, I became both father and mother overnight. And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I bathed them. Fed them. Paid their school fees. Stayed up through the night when they were sick. Cried silently when the weight became too much. I carried that burden alone — not because I was strong, but because I had no choice. I know some people like to throw around the phrase “gender roles.”

‘But tell me — what role does a father play when he has to do it all? What role does pain play when there’s no one to share it with? Fast forward to April this year. She came back Not to apologize. Not to explain. Not even to reconnect. She came to take the children. She said she wants to move them abroad. Just like that. And I said no.

“Now, I’m being called wicked. Selfish. They say I’m standing in the way of my children’s future. But tell me — where was she when I was scraping together money to buy baby formula? Where was she when they cried themselves to sleep, asking for their mother? Where was she when I sat in hospital rooms alone, praying for fevers to break? Where was she when I was breaking? Now she wants to show up and pretend the last ten years didn’t happen? Even the children don’t want to see her. But she doesn’t care. She’s shown up with threats. Sent thugs to intimidate me. All because she wants her children. She says, “They’re mine too.”

“But what does that even mean when you walked away from them for a decade? I’ve raised them with love, with sacrifice, and with consistency. Today, we’re doing okay. I’m financially stable. They’re in good schools. They’re happy. And most importantly—they feel safe.

“And now I’m the villain because I said no? So I’m asking, am I truly wicked for protecting my kids? Does a mother who disappeared for ten years still have the right to uproot them from the only parent they’ve ever known?”