The Customary Court sitting in Oke Eda, Akure, Ondo State, has granted custody of his four children to Prophet Obayan, a Lagos-based church founder, and also dissolved the 23-year-old marriage between the Prophet and his estranged wife, Prophetess Chibuzor Obayan.
The cleric approached the court seeking the paternity of his children and the dissolution of his marriage after his wife eloped with her lover and changed the surname of the children to that of his new lover.
According to Obayan, who told the court that his estranged wife eloped with a member of his church, the Divine Prophetic Solutions Prayers Ministry located off Arowojobe Street, Ladipo, Lagos, his four children were snatched by the two lovers.
Obayan, the founder of Divine Prophetic Solutions Prayers Ministry, however, approached the court to seek the return of the paternity of his children.
He also filed a divorce suit against his wife on the grounds that she changed his children’s surname to her lover’s name and sought the dissolution of his 23-year marriage.
The petitioner told the court that he is a Yoruba man, accusing his wife, who is Ibo from Abia State, of disobedience, misunderstanding, lies, manipulation, abuse, hate, and rage.
Obayan asked the court to grant him custody of his four children, whose surnames had changed to Obi.
The petitioner called three witnesses during the hearing, including himself, while the respondent and five others testified for the defence.
The respondent’s lawyer, T. B. Odudu, said the testimonies of the witnesses indicated that there was no marriage between the petitioner and the respondent, stating that their union lacked the five elements of customary marriage in Ibo land.
He listed the elements to include a treaty, the concept of parental agreement, the handing over of the bride, and the payment of the bride price.
But the petitioner’s counsel, Bosun Otitoju, told the court that all the witnesses had testified that there was indeed a marriage ceremony between Obayan and his wife.
He cited the case of Agbeja (1985) 3 NWLR (Pt. 11) 19, which held, “In proof of customary marriage, the evidence of the head of the family is desirable to prove an eyewitness account of the transaction is essential.”
In his judgement, Magistrate Segun Stephen Rotiba dissolved the marriage on the grounds that the parties had lost interest in the union.
Magistrate Rotiba said that with regard to relief two in the petition, the Court had already given a well-considered ruling that the children whose custody was sought have already attained adulthood.
According to him, “As regards reliefs three and four, which are ‘in pari materia and mutatis mutandis,’ the ruling of the Court dated April 26, 2023, has made a reservation to look into the propriety of the said action in the substantive suit.”
The Court noted that from the evidence before it, the respondent alluded to the fact under cross-examination that since the petitioner did not pay her bride price, her new husband, who paid the same, has the right to have them bear his name in accordance with Ibo custom.
The court held further that, “In the same breath, I find the Ibo custom exuded by the respondent and her witnesses that the children of the union can bear Mr. Abua Obi as their surname, atavistic, barbaric, evil, ungodly, irrational, sensational, crass, gross, crude, unwary, provocative, ungodly, discriminatory, and insensible.
“The custom that tends to punish one person when two consenting adults are involved in the act is nothing but the highest element of insensitivity and servitude.
“I condemn this custom in the strongest terms. While the matter was on, a publication was made on February 2, 2023, changing the surnames of the first two children of the parties to Abua Obi.
“Aside from the fact that complicity to change the surname of the first two children has been established against the respondent, it also amounts to sub judice as no action is expected to be taken on the subject matter by whoever when the matter is pending before the Court.
“This is a complete affront to the Court. I say no more. In conclusion, the Court hereby dissolves the union between the parties, having broken down irretrievably.
“The court, hereby, declares personal non grata, the custom of the respondent awarding paternal personality to a man who is not the children’s biological father.
“The court hereby invalidates and renders null and void the publication changing the surnames of the 1st and 2nd children from Obayan to Abua Obi.
“The court also invalidates any other publication or whatsoever changing the surname of the children from Obayan to Abua Obi during the pendency of this case.”
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