‘He took a new wife after I nursed him back to health, threatened me with broken bottle’

The 12-year-old union between a couple, Adedayo Kanisuru and Sheriff Kanisuru has been dissolved by Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Adedayo had sought for the dissolution of their marriage on the accounts of neglect, maltreatment and violence by the husband.

The plaintiff told the court she has had enough of her husband’s atrocities and therefore prayed the court to separate them and grant her custody of their children so that she could give them adequate attention.

The defendant agreed to divorce but refuted all that the plaintiff had said.

Giving his judgment, the court president, Chief Ademola Odunade observed that the love between them had waned. He added that it was necessary that their wedlock be terminated since it was filled with violence.

Ruling, he dissolved their union and granted custody of their two children to the plaintiff. He further mandated the defendant to pay the sum of N10, 000 for the feeding of their children. Odunade added that the education and general upkeep of their children from now on become his responsibility.

“My husband is nothing but an ingrate. I did all in my power to make him happy and make life easy for him by giving him the necessary support in the home. But he failed to appreciate all I did. His best way of saying ‘Thank You’ to me was beating me blue-back and neglecting me and our children.

“I stood by him when he took ill and was admitted at the hospital. His family members deserted him all through this period and it was my parents who paid his medical bill since I had expended all in my account attending to him.

“My lord, few months after this, to my surprise, he took a new wife and then made life unbearable for me, “Adedayo stated.

“He neglected me and our children and stopped showing interest in whatever pertained to us.

“He abandoned his responsibility as breadwinner in the home while I was left with no other option than to cover up for his inadequacies because of our children.

“He sought for faults in all that I did and took to beating me. He would hit me with anything within his reach and many times would not let me go until I bled.

“He got irate one day after we had a misunderstanding and destroyed all my property. Not done, he went for a broken bottle and threatened to stab me with it. This automatically became a habit.

“I packed my belongings and moved out of his house with our children because he gave me no rest and I felt he might take my life one day, “she added.

“My lord, he borrowed money from me and refused to pay back. When I asked for it, he rained curses on me and later came to my new apartment to beat me. He beat me mercilessly that day and I almost fainted.

“All I pray the court is to separate us and hand over our children to me in order that I may give them adequate attention because he has no time for them, “she concluded.

“My lord, she’s a liar and will certainly end in hell fire, “Sheriff said.

“I can’t remember ever raising up my hand to beat her.

“I should be the one accusing her of neglecting our kids. I had always made the welfare of our children our priority while I never treated anything that has to do with their education carelessly.

“She’s the one who has failed to play the expected motherly role towards our children. She has no time for them and was used to coming home as late as 8:00 pm. I complained bitterly against this but she failed to change.

“My lord, I believe she’s having an affair which is the reason for her staying out late.

“I’m also no more interested in our marriage because I don’t want her to cut my life short as a result of her wayward lifestyle, “he concluded.