Grade A Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has ruled on a divorce suit brought before it by a man, Babatunde Ajayi, against his wife, Basirat Ajayi.
Babatunde in his suit claimed that he and his wife were not compatible, adding that they have both been living separately for over two years.
He complained of Tawakalitu’s unruly behaviour towards his family members, most especially his parents.
Babatunde prayed the court, if his prayer of divorce was answered, to put their three children in his custody.
He further entreated the court to restrain his wife from coming to harass or threaten him.
Basirat pleaded not liable to the charges brought against him.
Babatunde, while giving his evidence said, “My lord, Basirat has consistently been a pain in the neck. She has never been my choice of an ideal wife, it was my mother who convinced me to marry her. She married her for me.
“I never enjoyed my relationship with my wife for a day. She has always been a thorn in the flesh.
“Basirat is stubborn and willingly flouted my orders in the home. She was always rubbing shoulders with me and would insist on having her way.
“She refused that I had rest of mind because she was always fighting me. This invariably took toll on my health.
“I gave her and our children N1,000 for food but she never appreciated my act of benevolence. She would always complain it was too small to feed the family.
“Basirat suddenly turned against my family members and my parents in particular.
“She treated them with disdain and refused that they come to our house which was one of the reasons we fought.
“She finally packed her belongings and moved out of my house. That was more than two years ago.
“Basirat after leaving my home never ceased to harass and threaten me. She would either call me on the telephone and rain curses, swearing that she will deal with me. At other times, she will come to my shop to fight me.
“My lord, I pray the court to rule that our marriage is dissolved and our three children handed over to me. I will put them in my sister’s care.
“I also appeal to the court to stop her from calling me on phone or coming to my shop to fight me,” he concluded.
Basirat in her testimony said: “My lord, my husband is irresponsible. I was the one paying the house rent throughout the time we lived together.
“He failed to carry out his duties towards our children. He doesn’t know their dates of birth and also insisted I had our children in her aunty’s house instead of the hospital.
“I insisted I was going to have our last child in the hospital but he refused to pay the bill. It was his brother who came to my aid.
“My husband smokes and drinks himself to stupour. He was in the habit of coming home late. He would not return home until it was 12:00 pm.
“After I left him he was initially giving our three children N500 and later N200 for food. But he later stopped doing this.
“My lord, I once released our children to him, but he took them to his mother who gave them little or no care. They were looking malnourished, which spurred my decision to take them away from her.
“I took ill and was on admission in the hospital but he refused to pay me a visit. His reason was that I have moved out of his house,” the defendant.
The court president, Mrs S.M Akintayo, in her judgment stated that it was obvious through the testimony given that the petitioner was not a caring father.
According to her, he was in the habit of coming home late and never denied smoking or drinking, which can lead to delinquency in the children if they were put in his custody.
Akintayo stated that their children would be better off staying with their mother who would give them adequate attention.
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