“I’m tired of my husband’s reckless lifestyle. I need a total break from him, “Iyabo Rasheed, a businesswoman told Oja Oba/Mapo Court Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
“He was a responsible man before we got married, but he turned a nuisance when he joined the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) shortly after we got married.
“I became a regular face at the police station because I was always called upon to pay for his bail and secure his release after being arrested and detained by the police for acts of thuggery.
“This automatically took its toll on my finance and business.
Iyabo’s husband, Biodun Rasheed in his response stated thus:
“She deserted me after I was mistakenly shot in the leg by the police. I later learnt she was sleeping with some of my friends.
“She was later impregnated by one of her lovers whom she finally moved in with. She now has two other children aside mine.
“I’m also no more interested in our relationship, but I pray the court to grant me custody of our two children.”
Iyabo Rasheed had approached the court, praying that her 10-year-old union to her husband, Biodun Rasheed, be terminated.
Iyabo in her suit alleged that her husband was irresponsible and did engage in act of thuggery. She added that he was in the habit of beating her when he was drunk.
She further prayed the court to grant her custody of their two children.
“My husband was a responsible and easy-going person when we met. He made a living by repairing watches.
“He joined the NURTW shortly after we got married which was unpleasing to me.
“Immediately he joined the union, his ways changed completely. He neglected me and the children. He gave us feeding allowance when it pleased him.
“He became nonchalant about the children’s education and avoided any discussion which had to do with it.
“Since I had a lucrative business, I took up the responsibility of our children’s education and general welfare.
“But instead of appreciating my efforts at covering his lapses, he resorted to beating me. He would lose his senses when drunk and descend on me with punches after returning home late, “Iyabo stated.
“He ended up ruining my business due to his irresponsible acts.
“My husband regularly got involved in acts of thuggery and was always arrested by the police. Any time he was arrested, I would be called upon to pay for his bail. This gradually started telling on my purse and business. My business, at the end of the day, went bankrupt.
“He was later shot in the leg by the police when he and his gang broke into a shop at midnight.
“He was on admission at the University College Hospital (UCH), for months and I spent through the nose paying his medical bills. I sought for loans from friends in addition to the little I had left in my account.
“I decided to move out of his home with our second child who is a female to my own house when I couldn’t bear with his shameless acts any more. Our son who is with him has stopped going to school since then, “she said.
“My lord, a woman who deserted her husband when he needed her most cannot be referred to as a wife and help mate.
“My wife deserted me when I was mistakenly shot in the leg by the police in 2010. She packed her belongings out of my house while I was in the hospital.
“I later learnt she was sleeping with some of my friends. She was impregnated by one of her lovers and today she has two other children for two different men aside mine.
“She took our female child with her, but she had to make her stay with a relative because she’s living with another man.
“I wasn’t pleased with the kind of treatment that was meted out to my daughter where she was staying and therefore requested that she celebrated the last Ileya festival with me. Our daughter refused to go back to where she was staying after the festival. I, therefore, enrolled her in a school.
Giving his judgment, Chief Ademola Odunade terminated their marriage and granted custody of their first child, a 10-year-old male to the defendant and the eight-year-old female to the plaintiff.
The defendant was directed to pay N5, 000 monthly through the court as their second child’s feeding allowance and be responsible for the education, health care and general welfare of both children.