A 31-year-old trader, Oluwatoyin Ibikunle, on Monday pleaded with an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her 14-year-old marriage over constant beating by her husband.
Oluwatoyin, an indigene of Osun and a mother of four who resides at Fagba, a Lagos suburb, said her husband Okiki Ibikunle was irresponsible.
She said, “My husband is irresponsible; he has turned me into a punching bag, I am no longer interested in the marriage.
“He keeps threatening my life, embarrassing and harassing me.
“He is so abusive, always raining curses on me and accusing me of having illicit affairs with different men.
“He made the police to arrest me and l slept in the cell for two days before l was released,” she said.
The petitioner said her husband was not taking proper care of her and their four children.
Oluwatoyin pleaded with the court to separate them, saying: “I am no longer interested in the union; the love I have for him has faded.
“l also want my husband to give me custody of the children for good and proper upbringing”.
She debunked all her husband’s allegations, saying that there were fabricated stories.
She told the court that she moved out of their matrimonial home due to constant beating and sometimes with injuries.
Ibikunle, a 44-year-old driver from Oyo State, denied the allegations and described his wife as wayward.
He said, “My wife is not submissive and she is wayward; she is not a good wife.
“She enjoys doing things l do not like and she moved out of our house two years ago.”
The respondent said that his wife used to be honest, faithful and straightforward, but suddenly changed after he lost his job and she started keeping bad friends.
He further alleged that the petitioner started keeping late nights and received strange calls late at night.
“I couldn’t talk much because l was not working and couldn’t provide for the house financially.
The respondent accused the wife of infidelity having caught her on several occasions with different men at different hotels.
He said, “On several occasions my wife lied that she was going for parties and left the house for days.
“There was a time she went for a party and did not return claiming she slept over at her sister’s house which l later discovered were all lies.”
He said that he confronted her on a particular day when he saw her with one of her male friends.
“She told me to my face not to disturb her that the man has been of immense help to her”.
The respondent told the court that he made efforts to resolve the issues between both of them which were fruitless.
“I later realised her family were supporting her because she credits her father and family member accounts with money she gets from her male friends”.
He also said his wife did not care about the welfare of the children as all she was good at was her business and relationship with men.
During mediation the children did not want their parents to live separately.
The Court’s President, Mr. Philip Williams, then admonished the estranged couple and told them that they did not love their children.
He said, “If care is not taken, you will ruin the life of these children and turn them to societal nuisance.”
The case was adjourned for judgment.
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