A Grade A Customary Court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has been asked to dissolve a marriage following allegations of domestic violence, neglect, infidelity claims and a dispute over the paternity of two children.
The petitioner, a prophetess identified as Idowu, told the court that her marriage to Aaron had broken down irretrievably due to alleged abuse, neglect and repeated threats to her life.
Idowu alleged that her husband regularly assaulted her, threatened her with a knife and failed to provide for her and their four children, comprising two sets of twins.
She further claimed that Aaron neglected the children's welfare and education, leaving her to shoulder their financial responsibilities alone.
According to her, she personally paid for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board registration fees of their first set of twins, who later secured admission into tertiary institutions.
The petitioner added that despite the children's admission offers, her husband had refused to contribute towards their tuition fees.
She told the court that she eventually left the matrimonial home with the children after becoming convinced that her life was in danger.
“I left the marriage when it became clear that my husband could carry out his threats against me,” she said.
“He never showed me love or affection. Instead, he was always quarrelling, fighting and beating me. Whenever we had disagreements, he would draw a knife and threaten to kill me.
“He neglected me and our children and failed to meet our basic needs. I was left to cater for the children alone, including funding their education.
“Since I left the house with our children, he has not contributed anything towards their upkeep.”
Idowu urged the court to grant her custody of the children, compel her husband to provide financial support and restrain him from harassing or threatening her.
Responding, Aaron agreed that the marriage should be dissolved but opposed his wife's request for full custody of the first set of twins.
He also claimed that Idowu had once informed him during an argument that the younger set of twins were not biologically his.
“My wife once told me during a disagreement that the second set of twins were not my children,” he said.
He further accused her of poor parenting, alleging that one of the younger twins was caught stealing at school, an incident he said brought embarrassment to the family.
Aaron, however, expressed willingness to support the children financially and proposed a monthly feeding allowance of N50,000.
He also accused Idowu of preventing him from seeing the children and influencing them against him.
The court president, Mrs S. M. Akintayo, after listening to both parties, adjourned the matter until August 2 for judgment.
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