Woman Returns Husband’s N20 Dowry, Says “My Husband’s Culture Is Full Of Taboos; He Beats Me Till I Bleed, Draws Knife At Me”
•We always had good sex; at 63, if she leaves me, no other woman will remain faithful to me
A thirty-year-old marriage between a woman, Janet Okupgo and her husband, Johnson Okupgo has been dissolved by Oja Oba/ Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Janet had brought a divorce suit against her husband alleging that he was troublesome, a drunk and in the habit of beating her at every opportunity. She added that he always insisted she appeased his village deities any time she committed an offence regarded as a taboo in his village.
Janet told the court she was tired of such a lifestyle and therefore prayed the court to end their union so that she could move on with her life.
Johnson who had earlier rejected his wife’s divorce plea later acceded to it.
Janet relaying her experience in her marriage told the court:”My lord, I’m tired of staying married to a drunk and a brutish fellow.
“He loses his bearing when he’s drunk and beats me to a pulp. He does this almost every day.
“I wake up as early as 5:00 a.m. to attend to him and the children before they leave for school and work. I then open my shop for the business of the day. Despite waking up that early, my husband still expects that I have the shop opened till he returns home around 11:00 p.m.
“He returns home everyday drunk. When he is in this state, he loses his bearing and raises dust over trivial issues. He shouts and pounces on me, beating me to a pulp.
“He once beat me so much that I bled from the inside. It was my brother in-law who carried me on his back to the hospital because I couldn’t stand up or walk.
“There was a day we fought and he almost stabbed me with a knife. I would have been a dead man by now but for our neighbours who came to my rescue.
“I have moved out of his house thrice because of his constant beatings but my family members would always insist I go back to him.
“We started our marriage from the scratch. We had little or nothing. But gradually, we were able to make ends meet.
“He once made some meaningful amount on his job and decided he wanted to buy a car. I advised him to buy a piece of land on which we can later erect a building. Rather than listen to me, he took counsel from his friends who never wished him well. He bought a car which he didn’t use up to a year before he wrecked it.
“Since then he has been accusing me of standing against his progress and pulling him down. He indicted me of using diabolic means to stop his other wives from having children, “she stated.
“My lord, he calls himself a Christian but has refused to go to church. He will always insist I appease his family deities any time he accuses me of committing an offence he regards as a taboo in his village. I act and talk in fear because his culture is attached to many taboos.
“He believes I’m dating every male customer I’m talking to. He will state it’s a taboo and will order me to carry out a sacrifice.