‘He’s irresponsible, a drunk’

An Ado-Ekiti Customary Court has dissolved the 35-year-old marriage between one Florence Oludare and her husband, Ojo.

The petitioner, Florence, had approached the court for the dissolution of the union on the grounds of frequent beatings, threat to life and lack of care for their children.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the 50-year-old  trader and labourer  told the court that her husband often beat her whenever she comes home late from the market or construction sites.

She said the defendant, who was often drunk, was also not providing food, care and education for the children.

The petitioner and mother of five said his indifference to the children’s education had negatively impacted on them.

She told the court that two of their daughters were impregnated while sleeping in other people’s homes.

The petitioner appealed to the court to dissolve her 35-year-old marriage with her husband as she could no longer cope with his attitude.

But the respondent, who is a retired transport driver, denied all the allegations levelled against him by his wife.

The 75-year-old admitted fighting with his wife but added that he last gave her a beating 20 years ago.

Ojo accused his wife of adultery while working as a labourer on a  construction  site in Akure.

The respondent said despite warning his wife against a particular lover who she claimed was her employer, she still went ahead to marry the man and had been living together with him in the last eight years.

He agreed that the union should be dissolved.

One of the witnesses, a daughter to the defendant, claimed that her mother was lying.

She said while her parents were to blame  for the crisis that had dogged the marriage,  the couple’s daughter  said their father had been taking care of them while he was healthy.

She, however, appealed to the court to dissolve the marriage so that her father could have peace of mind.

The court president, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, after hearing from both parties, observed that the union had broken down irretrievably and consequently dissolved the marriage.

She ruled that the last child of the couple, a 15-year- old, should continue to stay with the respondent.

Akomolede ordered that the respondent should grant the petitioner access to the child while she   must notify him before visiting the child.