He planned to use me for ritual after he made me abort his pregnancy —Wife

The Ile Tuntun Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has granted the prayer of a woman, Nosimot  Odugbemi for the divorce of her  12-year-old marriage to her husband, Kehinde Odugbemi.

The mother of three, on January 20, when the suit was first heard, had accused her husband of battery and neglect of her and their children.  She, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve their marriage and grant her custody of their youngest child.

“My husband is highly irresponsible. He’s not bothered about my welfare and that of our children. As far as he’s concerned, we do not exist,” she told the court.

“I moved out of his house five months ago because our home had turned into a battle ground.  My husband was fond of coming home late and when he did, he would always find a reason for beating me. We constantly fought and had turned ourselves into nuisance in the neighbourhood.

“The crisis in our marriage escalated when I got pregnant after our second child. He wasn’t pleased with it and thus requested that I aborted it. I agreed to this reluctantly so that peace could reign in the home.

“I got pregnant again a short while after, and he, again demanded that I had it aborted which I objected to because I didn’t want to die. Since then, it had been hell on earth.

“My lord, the situation got to a climax when I discovered he wanted to use me for ritual purpose. I had to run for my dear life, “she concluded.

The defendant refuted all the allegations leveled against him, saying the plaintiff wanted to soil his name. But he claimed he still loved his wife and therefore pleaded against a divorce.

The court president, Chief  Agbaje Olasunkanmi, after listening to the duo, adjourned the case till February 8, and ordered both parties to come to court with their relatives  and more evidence.

Both parties, on February 8, appeared in court with their relatives and more evidence.

The court, listening further to both parties and their relatives and going through the added evidence noted that their marriage had broken down irretrievably.

Olasunkanmi, therefore, ruled that their union be dissolved.

The custody of the first and second child was awarded to the defendant and the third to the plaintiff.

The defendant was asked to pay a sum of N3, 000 monthly for the upkeep of their third child.