He’s a hopeless, jobless man, separate us —Wife

“My lord, I’m tired of our marriage. I’ve  had it up to the neck and I can’t stick my wife anymore. I don’t want to commit murder, I therefore ask for the dissolution of our union.”

This was the plea of Bamidele, a mechanic at the IleTuntun Customary  Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.

“My wife is not domesticated and she’s nonchalant about our children’s welfare. She’s also troublesome, strong-headed and uncontrollable, the plaintiff told the court.

“Since my wife is strong-headed we are often at loggerheads. She’s fond of reporting me to her mother anytime we fight. And her mother instead of mediating in the matter will rush to our place threatening to deal with me and sometimes fighting with me.

“On one of these occasions, she bit my ear and at another time, my lip,” Bamidele told the court.

“My wife sells herbal concoction (paraga) at New Garage. As a result of her careless attitude, our three-year-old girl was defiled by one of her customers,” he said.

Explaining how it happened, the plaintiff said, “I was bathing our daughter and as my hand went down the lower part of her body she screamed.

“I asked her what the matter was and she told me a man put her on his laps and inserted his finger into her private part.

“I was mad when I heard this and was also surprised that my wife kept mute over such a serious issue.

“I asked her and she told me she went somewhere and left our daughter under my mother-in-law’s care who didn’t know when she wandered off.”

“According to her, she was found by a man who took her to a corner, sat her on his laps and inserted his finger into her.

“She said she didn’t tell me because she came back late from shop.

“Necessary medical examinations were carried out on our daughter and it was confirmed that she has been defiled, “he stated.

The plaintiff further added  that, “Our 6-year-old son was also stolen when he was  6 months old. We found him at Ijebu Igbo 10 months later. This was reported in the in the national dailies in 2011. I went through a lot of trauma searching for him.

“My lord, our union has been a turbulent one. I don’t wish to go on with it, I therefore pray the court to grant my request for a divorce.”

Responding to what the plaintiff has said, the defendant declared that she was also no longer interested in their marriage.

“I’m tired of a marriage where the responsibility of running the home solely rests on me.

“Since my husband is jobless, I pay the rent, feed and clothe him and our children.

“He can’t even afford a boxer to cover his nakedness, I therefore have to buy for him.

“When he impregnated me, his mother told me to abort the pregnancy, but my mother refused because I’m her only daughter.

“I’ve actually aborted his pregnancy twice without my mother’s knowledge.

“When I put to bed with our son, my mother-in-law brought me only 10 packs of Indomie noodles. And since she didn’t want to see me and the baby, I went to my mother’s place after leaving the hospital.

“Since I left his house last year, our son has stopped going to school.

“It’s true our daughter was defiled by a man where I sell  herbal concoction, “ the defendant said, but he failed to tell you that he was arrested.”

“I’m also tired of playing the role of a breadwinner. I therefore agree to a separation and also plead to have the custody of our daughter while he can have our son,” she told the court.

The court president, Chief Agbaje Henry Olasunkanmi having listened to both parties expressed concern over the children.

He, therefore, ordered that the case be adjourned till January 27, while the couple should come to court with their children and family members.