Ojo Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State has dissolved the 16-year-old marriage between a woman, Morenikeji Aliyu and her husband, Rafiu Aliyu.
Morenike had dragged her husband to court on the grounds that he was irresponsible and that he constantly beat him.
She thus asked the court to separate them and grant her custody of their children.
She further prayed the court to restrain him from coming to harass or embarrass her in her home or place of business.
The defendant who agreed to divorce debunked his wife’s claim. According to him, he carried out his duties in the home as expected of him. He added that his wife was promiscuous and was impregnated by her lover while under his roof.
After listening to the couple, the court president, Chief Ademola Odunade observed that their marriage had broken down irrevocably. Ruling, he dissolved their marriage and granted custody of their three children to the defendant.
‘My lord, I single-handedly ran the affairs of the home because my husband refused to be awake to his responsibilities.
“I fed and clothed him and our children all through the years we lived together as husband and wife. I was also responsible for our children’s education because he was not interested in their schooling. I enrolled them in school and paid their school fees as at when due.
“I was then hawking my goods as a means of survival but he insisted I must stop hawking because I returned home late always. I told him to rent a shop for me but he refused.
“We often fought over this issue and our family members did intervene but to no avail. He later threw out my belongings.
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“I left with two of our children who are female while the eldest who is a male remained with him. He later handed him over to his sister who made him hawk goods to the detriment of his education.
“He asked our son to come to me for his JSS3 WAEC examination fee and later told him to move to my place. Few weeks after he started living with me, I noticed he was stealing my money and using it to play lottery. This was as a result of the care and monitoring he lacked while staying with his father.
“My lord, I’m now married to another man, I, therefore, pray that you separate us, “Morenikeji stated.
“All she said is a lie. I have always been up to my responsibilities to the children. I ensure they go to school and also pay their school fees.
“My lord, my wife is a harlot. She was having an affair with another man who impregnated her while still under my roof. She was already five months pregnant before I discovered this which led to my throwing her out of my house.
“I don’t agree that she has custody of our children because she gave them no care or attention since she left with them. They have stopped going to school while all they now do is hawking goods for her and don’t return home until 10:00 pm.
“I went to her mum’s place where she kept the children to ask why they have stopped them from going to school and she and her mum pounced on me, manhandled me and tore my clothes,