A
38-year-old husband, Akinlabi Adeniyi, on Friday urged an Ado-Ekiti Customary
Court to dissolve his 12-year-old marriage to his wife, Blessing, for alleged
desertion and lack of care for the children. However, Blessing too accused her
husband and his family members of disproving of their union as they won’t stop
complaining that she is an Igbo woman.
Adeniyi, a resident of No. 8E, Orere Owu,
Ado-Ekiti, said his wife had packed out of their home, saying she was tired of
the marriage. The father of four, told the court that when Blessing got
pregnant, his mother-in-law was against the union, because he was a Yoruba man.
“When
she delivered her baby, her mother came to burn the baby’s material which
resulted into a fight between my mother-in-law and I. “All the same, after the
delivery of the third baby, I went to her village with my family to pay her
dowry. “I, however, noticed that after the delivery of the last baby, her
behaviour changed; she no longer stayed in the house, but preferred her parents
house,” he said.
He
further claimed that his family went to plead with her parents to appeal to
their daughter to come back home, but they told them Blessing had the final
say. “The children are now living with their mother in her new husband’s house,
but I want my children back because I am not happy with their welfare,” he said.
He, therefore, prayed the court to award him the custody of the children,
Sefunmi, 13; Ayomide, 11; Oyindamola, eight; and Sunday, six.
Blessing, 34, a
resident of No. 5, Ajowa Str., Ado-Ekiti, did not deny that she had remarried.
She told the court that when the pregnancy of their first child was two months,
Adeniyi travelled and did not return until six months after. “All through his
journey, he did not bother to ask after my welfare, knowing my condition. “It
was my mother who took care of me and settled my medical bills when he claimed
he had no money. “After three weeks of giving birth, he stole my money and he
ended up beating me when I challenged him. “When my mother came to warn him, he
held her clothe and broke her teeth; calling her a witch and being responsible
for his inability to progress, in spite of the fact that he had not paid my
dowry,” she said. Blessing also accused Adeniyi’s family of meddling into their
affairs, saying they did not allow her to enjoy her marriage. “They won’t stop complaining
that I am an Igbo woman,” she said. She
said she got to know through her children when they went for holiday with him
that he had remarried. “Before, I remarried, I have been responsible for the
feeding, welfare and education of the children. She, therefore, prayed the
court to award the custody of the children to her because her new husband had
accepted them as his own children. On hearing both sides, the President of the
court, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, adjourned the case till Sept. 7 for further hearing
CULLED: VANGUARD
CULLED: VANGUARD
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