“When under the influence of alcohol, he strips himself naked. He misbehaves under the influence of alcohol; he strips himself naked, fight in the neighbourhood and comes home to beat me.
“This has become a daily pattern. I feel ashamed being called his wife. I don’t want to go further in this relationship.”
Nafisat Balogun, in her divorce suit before Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, stated that she was no longer interested in her union to her husband whom she alleged was irresponsible, smokes Indian hemp and was a drunk.
She thus prayed the court to put an end to their relationship and grant her custody of their two children.
“What my husband lives for is beer and Indian hemp.
“His day is made and feels fulfilled when he takes these.
“He gets high, strips himself naked, fight in the neighbourhood and comes home to beat me.
“We’ve been married for five years and I can count the number of times he gave me and the children feeding allowance.
“He leaves no money to run the home but expects to eat when he retires home for the day. This causes misunderstanding between us and he ends up beating me blue back, “she told the court.
“He’s also destructive and has almost ruined me. Any time we fight, he will tear my clothes, destroy and burn my things. He will afterwards throw the remaining of my belongings out and will only take me in after the intervention of neighbours and family members.
“The last time we fought, he set my sewing machine on fire after he had dealt me with punches.
“I can’t continue living this way. My mind is made up on divorce.
“Kazeem agreed to divorce but was opposed to his wife having custody of their children.
He told the court that:
Her mother has always been the major cause of our problem.
“My mother in-law came for my wife when our marriage was exactly one and a half years old. She kept complaining I was not taking good care of her daughter.
“I made several attempts at having her release my wife to me, but she refused.
“I later relocated from Lagos to Ibadan where they were both residing and my wife finally returned to me, the defendant said.
“Due to the nature of my job, I travel a lot. I returned from my trip one day and met our apartment empty. My wife and two kids were nowhere to be found.
“Our neighbours told me she carted my things away with the help of her mother.
“I was mad and reported them at the police station.
“They were arrested and locked up in the cell after they confessed that they had sold my property, “he added.
“After returning to my place, my wife stole my N8, 000 which I kept under my DVD in the sitting room.
“She left home in anger around 10:00 pm after I accused her of taking the money since we were the only two at home aside our two kids.
“I was woken up around 5:00 am the next day by policemen who came to arrest me for allegedly beating up my wife.
“My lord, I love my wife, but her mother is the major cause of our problem. I’ve lost my peace due to my mother in-law’s interference in our marriage, “he concluded.
After listening to both parties, the court president, Chief Ademola Odunade, ordered their marriage dissolved and granted custody of their two children to the plaintiff.
The defendant was asked to pay N10, 000 as the children’s monthly feeding allowance and be responsible for their education and health care.
He was further ordered to pay the plaintiff N12, 000 as one year rent for a new apartment and also pay her N3, 000 to pack her belongings out of his place.
and then