He Lied That His Salary Was N10, 000; Sleeps At His Mum’s Place Every
Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan,Oyo State has dissolved the 16-year-old wedlock between a woman, Temitayo Adetunji and her husband, Gbenga Adetunji on the grounds of irresponsibility, neglect and constant fight by the latter.
Temitayo, who dragged her husband to court, aside praying for divorce, sought that it awards her custody of their two children and make him responsible for their feeding, education and general welfare.
Gbenga agreed to both divorce and her prayer on custody of their children but stated that contrary to what Temitayo said, he never failed in his duties at home and did pay his children’s school fees as at when due.
According to him, his wife started misbehaving after he lost his job due to an accident he had which resulted in a broken leg.
The court president, Chief Ademola Odunade after listening to both parties, dissolved their wedlock and granted custody of their two children to the plaintiff.
The defendant was ordered to pay N6, 000 monthly through the court as feeding allowance for both children and also bear the responsibility of their education and health care.
“My lord, I’ve come to court to put an end to my suffering and that of my children. I have always dreamt of a blissful marriage but what I have been encountering since the outset of our union are diverse challenges, lack being the major one.
“I’ve been the one bearing the responsibility of feeding the home since the first day of our marriage. My husband never sees it as his duty to do so. He’s a liar and deceitful in nature. He lied that his monthly take home is N10, 000 and as such handed off his duties in the house. The only thing he does is paying our children’s school fees.
“I work round the clock to ensure there’s food at home and hardly have time to rest and this is invariably taking its toll on my health. It’s also difficult expanding my business because I expend more than half of the proceeds from it on food and the smooth running of the home.
“It’s unfortunate that I’m married to an ingrate. He also has no shame. Rather than appreciate and commend my efforts, what he does is to fight and beat me. He beats me any time I fail to provide his meal not caring to know the cause, “she stated.
“My lord, my husband doesn’t sleep at home. He comes home after closing hours, eats and leaves for his parents’ house. This has been a constant practice. As a result, our relationship is void of intimacy.
“His parents, most especially his mother have, hitherto made life difficult for me. They are always on my neck and always giving me hell.
“His mother is in the habit of picking faults in all that I do and is always cursing me.
“She gave me N4, 000 to help her keep but my husband and I ended up spending it. He collected an amount out of it for his transport fare but failed to make a refund as promised. I also spent the remaining sum to provide food for the house.
“My plan was to extract the N4, 000 from the proceeds of my business but my mum in-law requested for the money before I could do this.
“Hell was let loose when I couldn’t provide the money. She and my father in-law insisted I and not my husband, should make a refund.
“She shouted and rained curses on me. I got angry and shouted back at her. She and my husband pounced on me and both beat me blue black, “Temitayo added.
“We once had a heavy down pour in our area which led to the collapse of a part of the wall of our house. The wall fell on me and one of our children and left us with broken legs. Rather than being sympathetic, my mother-in-law again rained curses on me, accusing me of not being prayerful enough.
“My lord, my mother in-law is obviously after my life and has not ceased to give me peace and rest. I’m tired of my relationship with my husband and I pray this honourable court to separate us and grant me custody of our two children in order to take good care of them while he’s mandated to be in charge of their feeding, education and health care.
“I likewise appeal to the court to caution him on coming to my house or shop to fight me.
“My lord, my last request is that he allows me to pack all my belongings from his home in the interest of peace, “she concluded.
“My lord, if she’s insisting on divorce then let it be, “Gbenga told the court.
“She lied that I shirk my responsibilities. I pay our children’s school fees as at when due.
“One of the reasons we fight is that she’s stubborn and loves to have her way always. She doesn’t admit she’s ever wrong and will never take to correction.
“Any time we have misunderstanding she will report me to her pastor who will always take sides with her. I warned her to stop taking our issues to her church but she turned deaf ears to me. I further stopped her from attending the church but she flouted my order. I believe she’s having an affair with her pastor.
“I lost my job after I was involved in an accident and had a broken leg. I decided to go into a business which involved my travelling into a neighbouring country, Cotonou, but I didn’t make any headway in it.
“Before I left, I told her to open a bank account where I will send money into for her upkeep and that of our children. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do this because I met with a setback. It was good Samaritans who paid my way back home.
“My lord, I pray the court after separating us to stop her from attending the pastor’s church because it’s near my house. I want to avoid a situation I will be walking into her.
“She can also have custody of our children if she so wishes, “he stated.