Court dissolves 5-year-old marriage over mysterious death of 2 kids

The president of a customary court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, Chief Ademola Odunade, yesterday dissolved the five-year-old marriage between John Olusegun Fawole and his wife, Mary, over the mysterious death of their two children, aged three years and one year old.

Odunlade said the court took the decision “since the two kids in the marriage are dead due to negligence and for peace to reign between the couple.”

Mary, explaining why she wanted to end the marriage with Fawole, told the court she could not explain the reasons for the “mysterious death” of the two children.

She said, “I don’t want this marriage again. The two babies I had for him are dead. I cannot explain the reason for their deaths and that is why I wish to live alone. I didn’t have any rest of mind in his house when I was with him. He beat me and asked me to seek divorce to allow him be.

“Since he was laid off at work, I was the only one caring for the family. I thought he would manage with me when he lost his job but he started misbehaving, threatening me aggressively and beating me.”

The respondent consented to the divorce suit, alleging that his motherin-law was the obstacle to success in the marriage.

He said, “The deaths of our children are also a mystery to me. The two of them died shortly after I lost my job with the state

government. Since then, she started misbehaving.

“She took the children to a quack doctor and they were injected with the wrong dosages of drugs. I wasn’t taking my children to any anyhow doctor when I was in the service, but because I didn’t have money she

left me and killed my two children.”