She refused to marry me but never stopped taking money from me, man tells court

Oja Oba/ Mapo Court C Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has put an end to the relationship between a man, Emmanuel Olufemi and Mary Oladimeji.

The plaintiff had dragged the defendant to court, praying it to stop their relationship on the accounts that she refused to marry him despite spending a fortune on her while courting her, during pregnancy and after she had put to bed.

The defendant was absent in court the three times the suit was slated for hearing.

Ruling after he had listened to the plaintiff, the court president, Chief Ademola Odunade dissolved their relationship.

According to him, the non appearance of the defendant in court the three times the suit was to be listened to and acted on, shows she was not interested in their union or ready to save it.

• He has no time for me and the children —Wife

Odunade further granted custody of their only child to the plaintiff for proper care and monitoring.

A copy of the judgment was ordered to be served the defendant.

Emmanuel told the court that:”My lord, Mary is the mother of my child. We courted for a few years and I impregnated her mid way into our relationship.

“I lavished money on her and took care of her to the best of my ability throughout the time she was pregnant and even after.

“When pregnant, I persuaded her that we tie the nuptial knot but she refused. I again reintroduced the issue after she put to bed but she rebuffed my proposal.

“My lord, despite being resolute in her stand concerning marriage, I still lavish money on her and this she never rejected. I have also made the welfare of our child a priority.

“I enrolled our child at Police Children School and pay his school fees as at when due. I have the receipts of the payments with me and I’m ready to present them anytime the court requests for them.

“My lord, to my surprise, Mary’s father who is a retired police officer went to our child’s school and changed all the information I gave them and which were documented in his file.”

He went on:”Mary now operates a beer parlour which is an indecent setting to have a child hang around.

“Again, the environment where she lives with our child is best described as a ghetto. Prostitutes make their living there while vices are carried out on a daily basis.

“I don’t want our child to end up a rogue which is my reason for asking for his custody.

“As a man, I believe I’m in the best position to train our child and monitor his activities.”