Husband tackles wife’s lover: Though he slept with my wife, I insist the pregnancy is mine

Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has again adjourned till May 30, further hearing of the divorce suit brought before it by Mariam Folalu against her husband, Kayode Folalu.

Mariam had dragged her husband to court, stating that he reneged on his promise to take care of her in marriage.

According to her,  Kayode cared less about how she and their children survived each day while they lived from hand to mouth.  She added that she stopped having sex with him to avoid getting pregnant again after they had their fourth child.

She added that apart from starving her and the children, he was also in the habit of beating her. The plaintiff told the court he once beat her and she bled for days.

She further told the court that she left his home on January 1, this year but that by then, she was already carrying her lover, Ololade’s pregnancy.

Mariam eexplained that she met Ololade who is a motor mechanic in November last year and that they slept together only once that month which resulted in pregnancy.

Kayode, while giving his evidence stated that he never abandoned his responsibility in the home while his children’s education and welfare had always been his priority.

According to him, when his business was experiencing a downturn financially, he took to okada riding as a means of survival.

The defendant added that he never beat his wife but that she bled as a result of the family planning she did and which she later removed.

Kayode told the court that in October last year, he gave the plaintiff money to seek medical attention and she was given injection for five days. He explained that the bleeding stopped on the fifth day and that they had sex that night.

He told the court she packed out of his home in February and left with his pregnancy.

Their daughter, Funmilayo debunked all the plaintiff had said stating that her father did his best in taking care of his family. She said that he ensured there was food in the home always and that they ate nourishing meals which made them look healthy.

She added further that even when her father was going through a challenge financially, he didn’t use this as an excuse to abandon his responsibilities at home.  Funmilayo told the court he was still doing all in his power to feed them and pay their school fees as at when due.

The court president, Chief Ademola Odunade after listening to the duo stated that more evidence would be needed.  He, therefore, adjourned the case till May 23 and directed the plaintiff to do a scan in line with the court’s procedure in a government-owned hospital to ascertain the months of the pregnancy.

According to him, the result should be forwarded directly to the court.

She was also asked to come with her lover, Ololade and other witnesses to court on the next adjourned date while the defendant was ordered to appear in court with their children and family members.

Mariam came  to court with her  lover Ololade  and two other witnesses, Rukayat  Ismail, her siter and Toyin Adeniyi, her sister in-law while 14-year-old  Funmilayo Folalu, their daughter came with Kayode on the adjourned date.

Ololade, giving his evidence, stated thus:”I’m a motor mechanic. I met my wife in November in her shop where she was selling bread. We started talking and she told me her husband wasn’t taking care of her and that he was fond of beating her.  Our friendship became more intimate and we started dating.

“I had two wives before I met her. My first wife died years back and left me with two children while the second one moved out of my house late last year after we had a quarrel.

• He drank himself to stupor, laid naked on our baby girl after having s*x with me —Wife

“Mariam started visiting me at home although I wasn’t sure if she was still living with her husband or not.  But I have met her sister, Rukayat Ismail and her sister in-law, Toyin Adeniyi, both who are in support of our relationship.  I’m seeing her husband for the first time here in court.

“She told me she did family planning after her last child but that she removed this when we started dating. She had her period immediately she removed it and we had sex when she was through with her period and this was the only time we ever slept together. She informed me a week after that she was pregnant and then planned to move her belongings from where she was living to mine bit by bit.

“She did a scan which confirmed she was pregnant and that the baby will be due for delivery in August which means she’s at present more than six months pregnant.

“I’ve been up to my responsibility as her husband and father of the child she’s carrying.  Since my job demands that I sometimes travel, I make it a duty to give her N20, 000 any time I’m travelling and when around, I give her N1, 000 or N2, 000 per day aside ensuring there’s food at home.

“I was responsible for her medical bills to the tune of N35, 000 when her ex-husband beat her and she bled. She moved to my place in January and her ex-husband started harassing me with the police, “he stated.

Rukayay Ismail, the first witness told the court that; “My sister confided in me that she was pregnant for another man on January 1 when I was with her and her family members for the New Year celebration. I was shocked and disappointed in her. I chastised her but she was adamant giving her husband’s non caring attitude as an excuse. She later moved out of his home, first to our family house and then to her lover’s place.  I met her lover for the first time in our family house when he came to pay her a visit.

“My lord, I can’t say who owns the pregnancy between the two men because I wasn’t there when she was sleeping with both of them.”

Toyin Adeniyi  also told the court, “I met my sister in-law’s lover  in January in  my husband’s family house  after she had  left her husband’s  house.  I made several appeals to her to make up with her husband but she refused.  She later told me she was carrying her lover’s baby.

“My lord, she only can tell who actually owns her pregnancy since I don’t know when she was sharing her bed between the two men.”

Kayode  stated  that:”My lord,  Ololade  lied that he doesn’t know me.  He came prostrating and begging me around September last year to let my wife stand as a guarantor for his wife when she wanted to borrow money at a micro finance bank. I refused because I had just finished paying the N45, 000 debt incurred by my wife when she wanted to buy a deep freezer. Till date, she never brought the freezer home.

“My lord, I still insist the baby my wife is carrying is mine.”

Fumilayo Folalu shed more light on this when she revealed that, “My mother introduced her friend to her lover (Ololade) when he lost his wife few years back and they later got married.  My mother was close to the couple after they got married.

“Their marriage was blessed with two children but my mother’s friend left her husband (Ololade) last year October because they were experiencing crisis in their marriage.

“My mother started dating and sleeping with her friend’s ex-husband (Ololade) in November, that is a month after he and his ex-wife separated.  She later moved to her lover’s house in February.

The court, having listened to all parties, presented the result of the scan Mariam did  through the court at Molete  Diagonistic and Clinical Services Limited  on May 16,  which stated that the pregnancy is  20 weeks old.

This,, according to the court, disqualifies Ololade as the owner of the pregnancy since according to him, he only had sex with the plaintiff once and this was in the month of November.

It further stated that since she moved out of Kayode’s house early this year, then the pregnancy belongs to him.

Marian, on hearing this, insisted her lover owns her pregnancy stating that though she shared the same room and bed with Kayode, she stopped having sex with him after having their fourth child who is now   eight years old.

Ololade, alleged to be  a tout and a member of the NURTW, reiterated that the first scan Marian did proved that the pregnancy is his, but threatened that if Kayode insisted the pregnancy was his, then he was doing that at his own risk.

Odunade  in order to  establish a  clear and fair  judgment,  ordered  Marian to go for another scan  in a  different government-owned hospital accompanied by Ololade and following the court procedure.