My husband is violent in nature. He loses control of himself when he is angry and would fight with any dangerous object within his reach.
“He is also a drunk and always drank himself to stupor.
“I am always at the receiving end. He makes me to pay for his shameful habit by descending on me with heavy punches when he is drunk.”
This is part of the evidence a woman, Morufat Osuniyi, gave against her husband, Tijani Osuniyi, at the Grade A Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Morufat who dragged her husband to court for divorce, alleged that Tijani, apart from being a drunk and violent, was always drawing knife at her anytime they had a misunderstanding.
The plaintiff stated that the defendant regularly shirked his responsibility in the home, thereby starving her and their children.
She added that their children’s education had never been his priority. She therefore took up the challenge of training them in school.
Morufat further said that she thought it wise to live separately from her husband despite appeals from his family members that she went back to him because it was glaring that he could not change from his shameful lifestyle.
According to the plaintiff, if she returned to the defendant and she died as a result of excessive beating by her husband or that he killed her with a knife or any other dangerous object, their children would suffer.
The plaintiff thus begged the court to put an end to the wedlock between her and the defendant, but make him responsible for their children’s upkeep.
Tijani did not come to court even though he was served court summonses.
Morufat gave her testimony thus: “My husband and I got married in 2016. We had a traditional wedding.
“My life contrary to my thinking took a negative turn immediately I started living with my husband.
“I started contending with my husband’s shortcomings early in our marriage. Some of these I did not notice until I moved in with him.
“My husband gets easily provoked. He goes violent when in this state and can kill.
“I have on several occasions been a victim of his wrath which almost left me incapacitated.
“Tijani in addition to this is a drunk. He drinks himself to stupor almost every day. The more I complained the worse he became.
“I learnt early in our marriage to bear my cross because my husband was never willing to carry any responsibility in the home. He preferred that our children and I starved to death than that he stopped drinking.
“I bore the demands of our children’s education because he never showed interest in it, while their feeding and clothing also become my duty.
“My husband would descend on me with punches when drunk and would leave me hurting.
“The first time he beat me, I threatened to leave him and he called unto his family members who pleaded that I stayed.
“I accepted their pleas and went on with our marriage.
“A few months after this, he got angry, became fierce and almost killed me.
“I packed my belongings and went back to my parents. That was a few weeks to our first wedding anniversary.
“I agreed to return to him almost two years after the incident after much pleading again from his family members.
“Five months after I moved back to my husband’s house, he took up a fight with me and then went for a knife.
“Tijanni drew a knife at me and would have killed me if I did not take to my heels.
“He is in the habit of fighting me with dangerous objects which is one of the reasons I no longer want to stay married to him.
“I have left him and took our children along with me.
“I entreat the court to grant me my prayer of divorce and the custody of our children while he is made responsible for their upkeep.”
The president of the court, Mrs S.M Akintayo adjourned the case till October 16, and ordered that a fresh hearing notice be issued and served the defendant.
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