Court dissolves marriage over threat to life

A Customary Court in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, has dissolved a four-yearold marriage between a 32-year-old man, Babalola Oluwatoyin, and his wife, Temidayo.

Oluwatoyin, the petitioner, had taken his wife Temidayo, to court, accusing her of keeping late nights, threatening his life, desertion for two years and lack of care for him.

Oluwatoyin told the court that, “My wife does not stay at home. She leaves home in the morning and comes back late around 08:00pm. The work that she is supposed to do at home as a wife, she will not do it. She will not cook for me; neither will she take care of the house. We fight always on this particular issue. Anytime I ask her not to go to her mother’s house, it is fight throughout that day.”

The petitioner also alleged that the respondent put their first child in school against his wish, adding that the child was still too young to be enrolled in school.

The 24-year-old respondent, Temidayo, pointed out that their fight was based on the petitioner always going to a woman on their street and returning late at night.

Temidayo also told the court that she left the petitioner when he insisted she should leave and that he threw her property out, concluding that she supported the dissolution of the marriage since the petitioner had married another woman with whom he already had a child.

The president of the court, Mrs. Mrs. Olayinka Akomolede, said reconciliation could not be achieved in the case as the petitioner was bent on dissolution, and that all efforts to promote reconciliation and facilitate amicable settlement between the parties were in vain.

Mrs. Akomolede noted that in view of the fact that the petitioner had married another woman, the marriage was dissolved with immediate effect and granted the custody of the children to the respondent and ordered that their feeding would be taken care of by the petitioner.

The petitioner was, however, granted unfettered access to the children.

The court granted a right of appeal within 30 days of the judgment.