‘I will prefer holding a pillow as my Valentine today to holding my wife’

For Mr and Mrs Folorunsho Mutiu, today’s Valentine celebration for lovers has already gone sour as the couple remained adamant yesterday that they would rather have their twoand-a half year relationship quashed immediately by the Customary Court than living together as a couple today.

The husband, 50-year-old Mutiu and father of one, declared before the court president he would rather hold on to the pillow to celebrate as his Valentine today than have anything to do with Fatimo, his wife.

Mutiu had approached the Abeokuta Grade 1 Customary Court, Lafenwa, sitting at Adigbe to seek dissolution of the relationship on grounds of lack of trust, frequent fighting, disobedience and others against his wife, which he declared he could no longer condone.

At the resumed hearing of the suit yesterday, the husband was emphatic that, to him, the relationship had broken down irretrievably except the court wanted him dead, saying Fatimo had been threatening him with acid.

“I have become a tomboy in my wife’s hands as she slaps me at will. I don’t want to get close to her because she can do anything,” he said.

Fatimo charged back that her husband was “irresponsible”, saying he had no care for her and their baby. “I am practically responsible for taking care of everything in the house. He does not provide for me and his child,” she retorted.

The president of the court, Mr A. Y. Fashina, had no sooner appealed to the couple to sheathe their swords in the spirit of the Valentine season when Mutiu immediately fired back, “I will prefer holding a pillow for the Valentine to holding her. As I said, she has been threatening me and I don’t want a disaster to happen.”

Fashina, at this juncture, ruled that since the issue of threat to life had become involved, it was the responsibility of the court, according to the law, to separate them.

He, therefore, adjourned the suit till tomorrow for ruling on it.