‘My husband usually attempts to rape me when I’m not in the mood, stole my underwear for rituals’

A trader, Sadia Abass, appeared before a Mapo, Ibadan, customary court yesterday with a request that her marriage to her husband, Azeez Abass, be dissolved over allegations of attempted rape and ritual.

Sadia told Chief Ademola Odunade, the court president, that she feared her life might be in perpetual danger if she continued to live under the same roof “with a man planning to use me for something diabolic.”

The petitioner added that her husband’s “inhuman treatment” had rendered the marriage “miserable and unattractive” to her.

“When Azeez’ ill-treatment to me reached its peak, I discovered that one of my underwears suddenly got missing and there was nowhere I did not check, but he denied ever seeing it. Three days later, the missing panties resurfaced where I had checked over and over and I made him realise his evil intention towards me.

“Only God knows what would have happened or might still happen to me because I have made it clear to him that I will not be continuing with him in the relationship.

“From day one when I got married to him, he has not been responsible. Even during my pregnancy and after, he never showed me care. He usually attempts to rape me even when I’m not in the mood and I reported him to his parents. Besides, Azeez has been monitoring me all over the place,” Sadia stated.

The respondent consented to the divorce prayer, but refuted all the allegations the woman levelled against him.

Arguing that his wife kept plunging him into debt, Azeez said, “Sadia doesn’t wish me well because all the money that I’m supposed to spend on my business usually falls into her hand. Worse, she always returns home around midnight. In fact, Sadia’s late homecoming affected our child negatively because his teachers told us that he sleeps when other children are learning.

“Most of the time, I buy food to eat because she refused to cook. Every now and then, she nags and packs in and out of the house.”

Odunade held that there was no more love between the couple and pronounced the marriage dissolved “in the interest of peaceful living.”

He granted custody of the only child produced by the union to the petitioner and ordered the respondent to be paying N5,000 monthly as the child’s feeding allowance, in addition to taking care of his education and general welfare.