She Sold All The Property In Our House, Married Off Our 16-Yr-Old Daughter
marriage, new islamic sect, behaving irrationally, children
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The divorce suit between a couple, Mouruf Lawal and his wife, Sakirat Lawal has been adjourned by Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, till December 16.
Mouruf who dragged his wife to court, alleged that she was troublesome, disobedient and had ceased to give him rest of mind. Mouruf stated that Sakirat was always fighting him.
The plaintiff in his suit also entreated the court to award him custody of their three children who according to him, the defendant had showed she lacked the ability to take care of.
Sakirat acceded to divorce but disagreed that the plaintiff had custody of their children.
Giving his evidence, Mouruf said:”My lord, I have not lived comfortably with my wife since we got married because she’s rigid, stubborn and has no regard for me.
“I loved and cherished Sakirat in the early days of our marriage mainly because I found out she was a virgin on the first night of our wedding.
“My lord, I sought to know if Sakirat was someone who could keep secrets and put her to test twice.
“The first test was that I slept with her and requested that she gave me palm oil to drink after we were through which she did. On the second occasion, I gave her a gourd to keep. I told her on both occasions to tell no one and she did. This strengthened my confidence in her.
“But my lord, as the days went by, Sakirat began to change and I discovered that she didn’t want my progress simply because she believes if I’m prosperous, I would take another wife.
“I was always running away from home because she made it too hot to live in. We once fought and I moved into a hotel. I left only with the clothes on me. I went back home to pick some of my clothes and discovered she had cut all my clothes into pieces with a razor blade.
“I stood away from her for months but our differences were later ironed by our parents. My lord, to my surprise on getting back home, I realised she has sold almost all the property in the house.
“We moved out of this apartment and rented another which I furnished again and equipped with electronics gadgets.
“Sakirat fought with one of our neighbours shortly after we moved in and broke her head. She was arrested by the police and locked up in the cell till I secured her bail.
“My family members and friends from that time onwards advised that I take another wife,” Mouruf told the court.
Continuining, he said: “I took to this advice and took another wife without her knowledge and she bore me a child. I ran away from home for days because I was afraid of telling her. I returned home only after my brother had informed her. She vowed never to have sex with me again and later left for her parents’ house with our children.
“There, she dented my image and accused me of wanting to use her for rituals. Our differences were again resolved and she moved back to my house.
“On her return, I handed over to her one of my shops to appease her. I further gave her N5, 000 to open an account and deposited N50,000 and later N40, 000 into it within a week.
“My lord, despite all I did, she didn’t let peace reign.
“She refused that I enroll our first child in a boarding school and kept in her account N57, 000 meant as our children’s school fees.
“My lord, Sakirat later moved out and went to settle down at Osogbo where she has no relative or friend.
“She came to my house when she learnt I had taken a third wife since the second one had left. She fought my new wife and slapped her on the face many times.
“To my chagrin, Sakirat gave out our 16-year-old daughter into marriage without my consent.
“My lord, Sakirat has pushed me to the wall. I want her out of my life forever. I, therefore, pray that you separate us and stop her from harassing or threatening me,” he concluded.
Sakirat in her evidence told the court “Mouruf is a liar. My lord, he stopped coming home shortly after we got married and was always making excuses. I was later informed that he was bringing in a woman to sleep with every night in a hotel he lodged in near his work place.
“I took up the job of a cleaner in our children’s school since he failed to live up to expectation at home. I was favoured there and was asked to pay only half of their school fees every term.
“Our family members mediated in our differences a third time and he rented another apartment, a two-bedroom flat. He again abandoned me and our children there. I took ill and was left off my job because I was too weak to work after I was discharged from the hospital.
“I had to sell my phone and some other things to feed myself and our children.
“My parents took steps to reconcile us but he refused to live with me and our children and kept us in the dark about his place of resident.
“He took to visiting us at noon and would demand for sex.
“On one of the occasions, he vomited a cowry shell after we were just through with sex and requested that I gave him palm oil to drink. I was scared, but I did.
“At another time, he brought out a gourd after we were through with sex and gave me to keep but I refused. I confided in an alfa who prayed with me and asked me to move out of the apartment.
“He failed to give me money for my upkeep and that of our children. On a number of occasions, he would ask me to collect money from his friend who was living a distance away and I would trek the long distance to collect the stipend.
“My lord, Mouruf never showed up when I had our second child despite informing him on the phone.
“He was arrested by the police for stealing cable at his work place and was kept in the police custody for days. We paid through our nose to get him released.
“I moved to Osogbo in order to cut myself away from him. He had taken a second wife before this, but his marriage to her didn’t work.
“He took a third wife who dealt cruelly with our second child. She beat him mercilessly and left him with wounds from head to toe.
“I wept when I saw him and went to withdraw him from the school where he enrolled him and brought him along with me to Osogbo. My lord, I have the pictures of our child with the wounds all over him with me as evidence. (She presented them before the court).”