“I keep asking my wife if it is a sin to love her so dearly. Despite the way I cherish and pamper my wife, she still offers herself cheaply to other men, thus turning me into a laughing stock in the neighbourhood.
“My lord, of the reasons I have come to court is that the paternity of our last child is questionable.”
These were the words of Samuel Iyanda before Oja Oba/Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Samuel had brought a suit before the court alleging that his wife, Florence Iyanda, had neglected her responsibilities as wife and mother in the home.
He added that she performed all sort of atrocities except stealing.
“My ears are full of my wife’s immoral acts and despite catching her red-handed on some occasions with her lovers, she still insists she has never been unfaithful to me.
“My genotype is AA, she is AS, but to my surprise, our last child is SS. I have asked her times without number who the father of this child is and she kept lying the boy is mine.
“I made the issue known to my sister who vowed she was going to dig into the matter. I later told her to hands off the issue because I love my wife dearly and didn’t want her to be ridiculed by my family members, Samuel said.
“My wife takes alcohol. She drinks both hot and beer. I have often warned her against this habit, but she refused to desist from it. She still drank the small bottle of the hot drink called Maxwell before she went to bed yesterday night. This is the empty bottle (He brought it out as evidence).
“I was informed she was having an affair with someone in the neighbourhood; I asked her, but she denied it and I took her for her words.
“I travelled out of town on official duty and promised to be back in two days time. But I was called from the office to take an important document along which was at home.
“I returned home and met this particular man I was told about with her in our room.
“I simply took what I needed and left.
“On returning, I reported her to her brother whom she confessed to that she truly brought a man friend home.
“This man later lodged her in his friend’s house for days, “he added.
“The earliest time she returns home from shop is 10:00 pm, I therefore, thought she would change when we moved to our own house which is quite a distance from her shop. But she didn’t.
“A year after we moved in, she asked me if my family members won’t chase her out of our house if I die.
“I was shocked and at the same time afraid at such kind of thought and utterance. I instantly told her I was going to live to good old age.
“My wife again started dating another man in our new area. This man’s wife created a scene when she came to shout at her in our house. I was highly embarrassed. This woman’s son also came to appeal to me to talk to my wife because her relationship with his father was tearing their home apart.
“Despite having caught my wife having a ride in the man’s car late one night and being informed by neighbours that they sometimes see her driving this man’s car when both of them are returning home in the night, she denied ever having anything to do with him.
“She later went to fight with the person she believed told me.
“I bought her a car so that she and our children could move easily. She learnt to drive, but she drives recklessly. The whole family was in the car when she once drove carelessly. She became angry when I corrected her; she parked the car, got out and threw the car key at me. She knew quite well I couldn’t drive, but she left me stranded by the roadside. I have never been that embarrassed. I was left with no other option than to lock the car and charter a taxi home, “the plaintiff told the court.
He went on:”I have reported her to our pastor on many occasions and they have counseled her, but she has refused to change.
“Because of my love for her, I kept all her atrocities away from my family members. They are hearing all I’m saying for the first time.
“The last thing she did was to pour a substance into the water we drink at home. Two of our children and I drank the water and noticed the taste and smell were different. When I asked her, she told me she was given the substance in a white garment church and that it was meant to bring favour our way.
“My lord, I believe with the way my wife is going, she will kill me.
“I received a strange call yesterday threatening that I should withdraw the case from court or else I would be dealt with, “he concluded.
Florence did not accede to her husband’s plea of divorce.
“I don’t agree to my husband’s plea of divorce because we jointly own our properties. We built our house together and both contributed towards the purchase of our car. We are also both responsible for our children’s education.
“Our children’s welfare is also important to me because I don’t want them to suffer, “the defendant stated.
Florence refuted her husband’s claim.
“The man he met in my room is a battery charger; his workshop is near my shop. I was sick the day my husband travelled and I went to the hospital. The battery charger saw how weak I was and helped me home. We both came in few minutes before my husband returned.
“He lied that I take alcohol. I have never tasted alcoholic drink in my life. The first time I did was yesterday night, and I did so because it was cold, “she said,
“I gave my husband the whole of my heart the day we got married. No other man has ever seen my nakedness, so the claim that I was dating another fellow or fought with a woman over her husband does not arise.
“It’s true I’m AS, my husband is AA while our last child is SS. I don’t think it should be an issue of concern to my husband because science has proved it is possible. In fact my sister also has a similar case.
After he had listened to both parties, the court president, Chief Ademole Odunola, dissolved their marriage and ordered the plaintiff to give the defendant N3, 000 to pack her things out of the house.
and then