By Toluwani Olamitoke
A woman, Basirat Oreyemi has dragged her husband, Abayomi Oreyemi before Grade A Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State alleging that he was irresponsible and regularly abandoned his duties towards her and their children.
She added that he was a brute and never spared any opportunity of beating and stripping her naked.
The plaintiff thus prayed the court to dissolve their union and grant her custody of their children.
She also pleaded that her husband be made responsible for their upkeep.
Basirat further appealed to the court to restrain her husband from threatening, fighting and interfering with her private life.
Abayomi agreed to divorce, but denied all the allegations brought against him.
He opposed the plea that Basirat had custody of their children.
Arguing her case, Basirat stated that, “I met my husband while I was working as a secretary. Although he was much older than me, I liked him and gradually fell in love with him.
“I believed that being older than me, he would lavish me with his attention and take proper care of me, but the reverse was the case.
“My husband maltreated me from the onset of our marriage.
“He neglected me the first time I got pregnant and this eventually became the pattern.
“My mother came to our aid by paying my hospital bills when we had our first child, while I paid that of our second child.
“My husband didn’t give me a dime on both occasions.
“I lost my father six months after we had our first child and my husband to my chagrin refused to pay my family a condolence visit in our home town. His excuse was paucity of fund.
“I advised that he borrowed money to make a journey to my people with a promise to make a refund but he remained adamant.
“I was committed to him and his family and always attended their functions, but he always shunned my family.
“He lost his mother shortly after I lost my father, but he failed to play the role expected of him.
“He made no arrangement towards her burial. I shouldered the responsibility and provided all that was expected of us in giving his mother a befitting burial.
“But my husband being an irresponsible and ungrateful fellow refused to attend my mother’s burial when she died.
“Abayomi starved me and our children of food. He gave us peanuts as feeding allowance once in a week and would expect that I served him sumptuous meal out of this.
“He would beat and strip me naked any time I complained of his uncaring attitude and nonchalant attitude towards me and our children.
“Our landlord, fed up with our constant fight which always turned our compound into a noisy place, sent us packing.
“We moved into a boys’ quarter belonging to a woman, but we were again thrown out after he beat my sister to a pulp for daring to demand payment for the chicken he bought.
“We started living separately after this, but he came begging after he learnt that I had built a house and moved into it.
“He came along with some church members to appeal that he moved in with me and I agreed, but I lost my peace after this because we lived like cat and mouse.
“I had an accident and was on admission in the hospital, but he never paid me a visit.
“My husband later started accusing me of dating a particular man and would descend on me with heavy blows.
“He snubbed and kept malice with me.
“I filed for divorce, but he begged me.
“My husband has not been committed to our children’s education.
“He didn’t give our first child a dime when he gained admission into the university neither did he pay our second child’s WAEC fee.
“He passed the bulk of these responsibilities to me.
“I travelled on a faithful day and my husband broke into my room and ransacked it.
“I ordered that he moved out of my house after this.
“My lord, I have had enough of my husband’s atrocities. I pray that you dissolve our marriage and grant me custody of our children because he has no time for them.
“I also entreat the court to mandate him to be responsible for their upkeep.
“I further plead with the court to restrain him from threatening and interfering with my private life.”
Abayomi while responding stated that, “My wife was in the habit of coming home late. She would close from work at 4:00 pm but would not return home until 9:00 pm.
“Basirat has a lover who usually brought her home in the night.
My lord, I had once caught my wife and this same man in our house. I created a scene and he was asked to apologise to me.
“She alighted from this man’s car one of the nights and refused to greet me. She ignored me and went straight into the house.
“Basirat heard me challenging her lover for daring to bring her home and also late and she ran out, shouting on me on top of her voice.
“My wife was obviously drunk. The smell of liquor was oozing from her mouth and she was tipsy.
“She grabbed me from the back and tore my clothes.
“Her lover came out of the car also drunk and persuaded her to leave me.
“My wife called our son on the phone and lied to him that I beat him.
“Our son came home with two soldiers around 11:00 am the following day to arrest me.
“I went with them and they interrogated me on the way.
“The military men were shocked to learn that I was his biological father. According to them, my son told them a different story.
“I got home and our neighbours to my surprise came congratulating me. They informed me that this same son of mine came home with a Toyota Camry car he had just bought.
“I told them I sent him to school to study and therefore didn’t know where he got the car from.
“My wife and her friend on that same day both beat me and again tore my clothes, because I denied the latter access into our house.
“I was advised to report both of them at the police station and I did.
“My wife and her friend came ten minutes later, accusing me of theft and demanding that I got arrested.
“Basirat’s friend boasted that she was highly connected and would drag me to court.
“I reported my wife to her family members who advised her to take caution, but she insisted on coming to court.
“My lord, I accede to divorce, but pray that our children be in my custody.
The court president, Mrs S.M Akintayo after she had heard both parties adjourned the case till April 4 for judgment.
