An Igando Customary Court in Lagos has dissolved a 16-year-old marriage on adultery charges, filed by the husband against his wife, saying he could no longer tolerate her infidelity.
The court’s President, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, granted the prayer and dissolved the marriage with a declaration: “Both of you henceforth cease to be husband and wife”.
Koledoye said that since the petitioner had insisted on divorce, after several interventions, the court was left with no option than to grant him his prayer, despite his wife’s claim that she still loved him.
“Each of you should go on his or her separate ways unmolested; the court wishes both of you well in your future endeavours”, the President ruled as he gave the custody of the children to the petitioner, Ola.
He ordered Ola to pay a severance of N150,000 to his wife for her to move on with her life.
Earlier, the husband, Mr Sola Ola, had petitioned the court, seeking dissolution of his marriage over his wife’s adulterous act.
In his submission, he said: “I got information from people in our community that my wife was having extra-martial affairs, but I ignored it since there was no evidence to support it.
“In March, I received a call from somebody at 12:30 a.m. to come and see my wife with one of her lovers at their hiding spot in a hotel.
”I rushed to the scene and caught her and her lover in a compromising position, touching each other,” he said.
According to the petitioner, since that day, his wife had refused to return home.
“Whenever we had a misunderstanding, she would bring out either a knife or a bottle threatening to stab me. My brothers seized three knives from her at different times; those knives are still with them,’’ Sola told the court.
The 55-year-old civil servant said Tola was troublesome and frequently fought with him and their neighbours, adding that she was also uncaring as she allowed her children to go to school without food.
Responding, 50-year-old Tola, the mother of three children, denied being wayward and promiscuous, saying, “I never had any extra-marital affairs.”
She submitted that Sola became hostile to her since he married another wife.
“My husband and I did not have any problem until five years ago when he married another woman. Since that time, he refused to eat my food and make love to me,” she said.
The respondent also said that she cared for the family, while Sola did not.
“When I was sick and admitted in a hospital for days, my husband never came to check on me nor paid the bills,” she added.(NAN)
