Grade A Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State has given judgment in a divorce suit brought before it by a woman, Modinat Sule against her husband, Ali Sule who she accused of being irresponsible and violent.
Modinat stated that her love for Ali waned as a result of his maltreatment of her.
She thus pleaded for custody of their children, but requested that the court made Ali fully responsible for their upkeep, giving attention to their feeding, education and health care.
The plaintiff further sought for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from harassing, threatening, disturbing and or interfering with her private life.
Ali was absent in court despite being served court summonses.
Modinat while giving her evidence said, “I derived no joy married to my husband. He treated me with contempt and daily humiliated me.
“I met Ali in 2003 and later moved in with him. He did not pay my bride price till date.
“Though we lived together under the same roof, but there was no intimacy between us.
“I tried hard to make our marriage work, but my husband frustrated me.
“Ali stopped giving me attention from the outset of our marriage. He neglected me and later deserted me in 2011.
“My husband is violent and was in the habit of fighting me at every given opportunity. No day passed without him beating me.
“He would punch me not sparing my eyes. I go about with bloodshot eyes almost all the time.
“Ali did not restrain himself from this brutish behaviour even when in the public.
“He beat me in the public and on many occasions tore my clothes and left me naked.
“My husband and I once engaged in a scuffle and he gave me a blow which made one of my teeth flew out of my mouth.
“He also beat me when I was carrying our last child’s pregnancy and I almost had a miscarriage.
“I moved to my parents’ house after this and had our baby there.
“I went back to my matrimonial home after our parents mediated in our differences, but our relationship could not be mended.
“Ali threw me out of his house after one of our fights and I went back to my parents.
“My lord, to my chagrin, he got married to my friend a few months after this.
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“Ali is financially buoyant and can afford to train our children in a good school but he has refused to do so.
“He instead neglected their education and refused to pay their fees.
“It was my parents who paid our first child’s common entrance fee when seeking admission into the secondary school, while he refused to pay his WAEC fee.
“Ali is a wicked father and has consistently starved our children. He gives our three teenage children only N400 for food per day.
“Our children look malnourished and sickly which makes me sad, but he sees nothing bad in it.
“My husband of recent took to harassing and threatening me and refused that I have rest of mind.
“My lord, I stopped regarding Ali as my husband a long time ago. I came to court in order to make our divorce official.
“All I request from the court is that it awards me custody of our children, but make my husband responsible for their welfare, giving feeding, education and medical care his priority.
“I also pray that it restrains him from harassing, threatening, disturbing and interfering with my private life.”
Ali was absent on several adjournments, the defense was thus foreclosed.
The court president, Mrs S.M Akintayo giving judgment stated that no subsisting valid customary marriage held between the two, hence there was no marriage to be dissolved.
Akintayo ruled that their children be in the plaintiff’s custody while the defendant should be granted free access to them.
He was also mandated to be responsible for their feeding, education and health care among others.
The defendant was restricted from harassing, threatening and interfering with the plaintiff in her place of abode or work place.
