Babatunde alleged that his wife was troublesome, fights him and was always in support of their son’s waywardness.
He, therefore, prayed for divorce from his wife and also sought for custody of their children in order to give them proper attention and training.
“My wife and I got married in 1997 and we had our first child same year. But since we got married, I have known no peace.
“We were always at loggerheads which made me insist that she moved to my mum’s place so that I could have a breathing space.
“When our first child got to JSS3, I noticed that he had started misbehaving. He wasn’t attending classes regularly and was fond of dressing indecently. He was always moving with bad company.
‘I called my wife’s attention to these, but she waved it aside.
“Our son later took to stealing. He started stealing my money and anytime I accused him, his mother would flair up and insult me. She was always taking sides with our son, “the plaintiff said.
“He had nine F9s during his first attempt at WAEC; I had to take him to a special center before he passed this examination the following year and gained admission into Tai Solarin University of Education, (TASUED), Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
I had an accident shortly after he gained admission and was on crushes. I, therefore, gave him my ATM card to withdraw money when it was necessary to do so.
“My son used this opportunity to debit my account to the tune of N800, 000. I nearly had hypertension.
“Since I was incapacitated, I asked him to carry out some business activities on my behalf. He was to transact business with some of my customers.
“To my surprise, he broke into one of my customers’ house through the roof and stole his N450, 000.
“He was arrested by the police and locked up. He confessed committing the crime, but his mother insisted his son didn’t steal. According to her, all that happened was a set up.
“She fought and accused me of soiling her son’s name.
“There and then I told her I was disowning the boy.
“I gave her N200, 000 and at another time, N100, 000 to set up her business, but she returned the money to me.
“I’ve had enough of my wife’s shameless and irresponsible act. My desire is that we go our different ways, “Babatunde concluded.
Sakirat, a fashion designer, debunked all his husband had said.
“He has stopped playing the role of husband and father since he took another wife.
“He abandoned me and our children, but he now has the guts to tell the court I’m taking sides with my son.
“He doesn’t know how we eat or survive. Our children’s education is also not important to him.
“I told him our first child needed proper mentoring, but he was never there as a father.
“He reported me to the police that I was backing our son whom he called a thief; I was arrested but when the police heard my side of the story, they released me and advised us to give our children more attention, “the defendant stated.
“Her sisters, rather than pity my condition, fought me. They accused me of not giving their brother rest of mind. They tore my clothes and left me stark naked.
“I reported them to the police and they were arrested and locked up.
“After their release, they came to my place and removed the windows.
“My husband heard all these but did nothing, “the defendant added.
“He had refused to come home for months. I sent him text messages pleading and begging him to come home, but he ignored me.”
The court president, having listened to both parties, stated that more evidence would be needed.
He thus adjourned the case till July 12 and requested that they come to court with their witnesses.
and then