A middle-aged man, Jimoh Falana, has pleaded with an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve his 13-year-old loveless marriage with his second wife, Funke Falana, for being foul-tempered and troublesome.
The petitioner, who is the branch Chairman of a local militia (Od’ua Peoples Congress) told the court : “There is no more love in the union as my wife is not caring and highly adulterous.”
He alleged his wife often fought other wives, especially his fourth wife and heaped abuses on other children.
Falana alleged that his wife had slept with one of his subordinates, who kept bragging about the act.
“This caused me so much embarrassment among my members, being an OPC leader in my area.
“I called Funke’s attention to this act and told her to come and swear to an oath but she refused. I hate her so much,” he said.
The petitioner, who described the respondent as troublesome and aggressive, alleged that she assaulted him by stabbing him on the stomach with a pair of scissors.
“On a particular occasion, my wife threw a cup at me, tore my clothes in front of my colleagues and stabbed me with a pair of scissors on the stomach because I opened a shop for my fourth wife.”
Falana also claimed that he had not slept with his wife for more than two years since she moved out the house and urged the court to dissolve the marriage.
“l am tired of the marriage, l want the court to separate us so that l can live a peaceful life,” he pleaded.
The respondent, Funke, a businesswoman and a mother of three, however, denied all allegations levelled against her and objected to the marriage dissolution.
She told the court that her husband was lying, adding “I had sex with her three times in the last one month.”
She accused him of neglect, saying he only gives her N1,000 monthly to cater for herself and her children.
The husband appealed to the court not to dissolve the marriage, insisting “I still in love him.”
The court’s President, Mrs Ibironke Elabor, assured the couple that the crisis would be resolved.
“Lagos State wants resolution of marital crisis especially if there is a slight chance of resolution between both parties,” she said.
Elabor adjourned the case until July 26 for adjudication by the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). (NAN)
