He pulled my hair, threatened to maim me if I ever dated another man —Wife

A woman,  Abiola Aladesanmi, has pleaded with Oja Oba / Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State,  to dissolve her 15-year-old marriage to her husband,  Femi Aladesanmi.

Abiola alleged that her husband was irresponsible, violent and always threatening to kill.

She, therefore, prayed the court to separate them and grant her custody of their three children.

She further prayed the court if her prayers were answered, to restrain him from coming to harass her in her home or work place.

Femi did not accede to claim.

The plaintiff stated thus before the court, “My lord, my husband is a never-do-well. The only thing he knows to do well is to drink alcohol and get drunk.

“He abandoned his responsibilities in the home and watched me struggle to make ends meet.

“I have become dad and mum to our children because my husband has never been there.  I feed, clothe and send our children to school.  Any time our children ask him for their needs, he will ask them to come to me, “she said.

“My lord, he complains he doesn’t have money, but he’s in the habit of sleeping with prostitutes.

“We fight over this on a regular basis.  He has turned me into a drum he beats everyday.  He’s also in the habit of pulling off my hair whenever we fight   The last time he did, I bled  from  both my head and  private part because he kicked me in the stomach despite   knowing that I had ulcer.

“I was rushed to the hospital and was on admission for days.  I footed the bill myself.

“He’s always threatening to hurt me through diabolical means or kill and bury me on his piece of land habouring his uncompleted building.

“I left his house and rented a new place when I saw he could make his threat real, but he still comes visiting me there and on many occasions would sleep overnight.

‘Any time he’s around he will ask our son who is the eldest of our children how many men come to visit me.  He‘s always threatening to maim or kill me if I ever date another man.

“I requested that he paid my rent when it was due since he comes to sleep there but he refused.

“My lord, I discovered our son, rather than go to school, visits gamblers. I appealed to my husband to give him more attention being a man but he refused. I dragged him to the Welfare Office and he was mandated to take full responsibility of looking after our son’s welfare but he refused.

“He packed his belongings one day and lied that he was travelling. He brought our son back to me. I locked the door and refused to open it to our son because I knew he wanted to dodge his responsibility. We fought over this and he forced the door open with a kick, “the plaintiff stated.

“I’m a responsible man, “Femi told the court.

“I enrolled our children in school as early as age two and paid their school fees as at when due. She left home about two years ago when we had a quarrel after my business nosedived.  But even then I was still doing all I could to pay their fees.

“We ironed out our differences in February this year and I requested that she moved back to my place. She told me she wasn’t moving back to our apartment and demanded that I complete the building I had abandoned for some years.

“My lord, I’m surprised that she said I beat her.  It is true that we quarrel but I never beat her.

“I have also never taken alcohol in my whole life. I promised to pay half of her rent because mine was also due but she insisted I pay the full amount despite knowing that I was struggling to survive.

“I decided to travel to Lagos to seek for survival and brought our son to her for care. She refused to take him in. She left him outside crying.  I got mad and forced the door to her apartment open with a kick.

Listening to the duo, the court president , Chief Ademola Odunade  stated that there was a display of violence in their relationship.

Giving his judgment, he dissolved their union and granted custody of their children to the plaintiff.

The defendant was mandated to pay N6, 000 monthly as their children’s feeding allowance and be responsible for their education and healthcare.