He was initially nice, responsible but later changed into a monster —Wife

The  Oja Oba/Mapo Grade C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has dissolved  the 9-year-old marriage between Kehinde Imran and  Murithala Imran based on the suit brought before it by the former which was hinged on neglect, battering and false accusation.

Kehinde,  a trader, filed the suit against her husband, Murithala, alleging that he was unloving,  careless about her welfare and that of their children and beat her at every given opportunity.

She, therefore, sought for a divorce and the custody of their third child who is four years old.

“I got married to my husband nine years ago. Due to the kind of upbringing I had, I vowed never to sleep with any man until I was married and this promise I kept till my wedding night.

“When I met my husband, he appeared nice and responsible, which spurred my decision to marry him. Unfortunately, he changed immediately we got married.

“The first step he took was to stop me from running my business and this was the genesis of our problem.

“I have quite a number of customers and I sometimes stay a bit late in shop whenever business is good.

“My husband suddenly became unnecessarily suspicious of my movements and people I interact with in the course of running my business. He started monitoring my movements and accused me of being unfaithful.

“This had led to hot arguments on many occasions and we would end in a fight. He never ceased to beat me mercilessly in front of our children.

“He later stopped me from trading and refused to give me money to take care of myself. This maltreatment was also extended to our children.

“Many times we went hungry and many needs in the house were not met. He actually made life unbearable for me.

“At the end of the day, he threw my belongings out of his home.

“My lord, I want to pick my life together again and I can’t do this with him threatening and harassing me always. I therefore request for a divorce,” she told the court.

Responding, the defendant, Murithala, denied all the allegations levelled against him by the plaintiff.

“She said all that to save her face,” he said.

“I never stopped her from trading, but I can’t stand my wife going out early in the day and coming back late in the name of running a business.

“If she feels she can shout at me and rub shoulders with me in the home because she has some change in her pocket, I also have learnt to cut her feathers.”

He went on,“ I was monitoring her because of the unpleasant things I was hearing about her. She changed from being the caring and submissive lady I used to know while we were courting to an uncontrollable human being.

“I’m also tired of our marriage. She can go and even have custody of the three children.

President of the court, Chief Ademola Odunade, after  listening to both parties, stated that it was obvious there was no more love between them. He, therefore, dissolved the marriage and gave the custody of the three children to the plaintiff.

He further ruled that the defendant should  be responsible for the welfare, feeding, education and health care of the children.