A 50-year-old herbalist, Idris Ibrahim, lost his 23-year-old marriage to his wife, Opeyemi, on Monday for accusing her of sleeping with their son.
The petitioner, Opeyemi, had told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that her husband, Idris, defamed her character by spreading fake news that she was sleeping with their second son.
“How will I sleep with my son when I am not under a spell. My husband is embarrassing me everywhere, telling all who care to listen that I am having sex with our son,’’ she said.
The 47-year-old trader accused her husband of being fetish.
“There was a day I woke up around 3:00 a.m, my spirit told me to go to my children’s room. When I got there, I saw my husband and his mother covering our youngest son with red cloth.
“I shouted and they quickly removed the cloth and ran out of the room. If not for my quick intervention, who know what they wanted to use the boy for,’’ Opeyemi said.
The mother of four said that her husband turned her and the children into a punching bag.
“My husband is in the habit of beating me and the children.
“There was a day he hit me with broom and it took days for my children to remove the crumbs of broom from my body.
“He is also hostile to the children. He punished them by torturing as if he is not their biological father,’’ she said.
Opeyemi said that her husband was fond of sending her packing from her matrimonial home.
She described her husband as a “vandal’’, saying that he used to destroy her property whenever they had a fight.
She begged the court to terminate their marriage, saying she could no longer cope and that the love she once had for her husband had faded.
However, Idris accepted the allegation of accusing his wife of having illicit affair with their second son.
“My mother told me that she caught my wife sleeping with our 19-year-old son. I believed her because she could not lie,’’ he said.
The 50-year-old herbalist said that he beat his wife whenever she erred, saying that his wife goes out at will and comes home at will.
He pleaded with the court to grant his wife her wish, saying that he too was no longer interested in the marriage.
While delivering the judgment, the Court President, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, on Monday said that it appeared that the estranged couple was tired of the marriage and that all efforts to reconcile both parties had failed.
“Since both parties consented to the dissolution of their marriage, this court has no choice than to dissolve the marriage.
“The court hereby pronounces the marriage between Mrs Opeyemi Ibrahim and Mr Idris Ibrahim dissolved today; both of you henceforth cease to be husband and wife.
“Each of you should go on his or her separate ways unmolested. The court wishes both of you well in your future endeavor.
“The custody of the last two children who are still minor is awarded to the petitioner until they attain the age of majority to decide where to stay,’’ the court president said.
Koledoye ordered Idris to be paying N10, 000 monthly for the feeding of the two children who are in the custody of their mother and should also be responsible for their education and general welfare. (NAN)
