Court Dissolves Life Threatening 8-year Long Marriage
A hair dresser, Mrs. Alimat Salami has dragged her husband of eight years Mr. Monsuru Salami to the Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan over lack of provision of basic care for her and her children, incessant physical assault visited on her and threat of further injuries with cutlass and shovel. She alleged that despite several warning from the couples parents, her husband never for once changed for better.
Under oath with the Holy Quran, Mrs. Salami narrated that she lived with her husband at Olorunsogo Area of Ibadan for more than eight years and their marriage is blessed with two children ages 5 and 8 . She stated that before she married her husband, she discovered that someone had given birth to him but his mother persuaded her to marry him. She added that she only enjoyed her marriage for 5 months after when her husband married another wife and since then he used to beat her mercilessly.
She said her husband has in recent times beaten her eight times and on the sixth time he beat her such that her parents flared up and advised her to leave his house but later he begged her and she appealed to her parents to allow her to go back to his house. Alimat disclosed that the 7th time that he beat her, it was his father that went to police station to report him, still they settled it. But it was on the 8th occasion that she was beaten that was worst to the extent that every part of her body was inflicted of scars.
She also alleged that during the latest 8th incident of incessant beating, her husband twice slapped his father who used to intervene to resolve their quarrel and that was the reason that prompted her to make up her mind to enlist the assistance of the Court to seek their separation in order to let peace reign. She told the Court that since she has left her husband house over the past one month till date, he has not cared to know how his children have been eating or paying school fees. She said she was the one that used to fund these needs.
Alimat further narrated that her husband’s parents and relations are tired of settling disputes and fightings between them. She also pointed out that at present her husband has four wives and has started befriending another lady at their current residence, a situation she considered risky for her and her children more so that she doesn’t want to die young. She appealed to the court to separate them and allow her to let their two children to be with her till they are old enough to decide on their own.
In his own narration, the husband, Mr. Monsuru Salami, an aluminum maker told the Court that he doesn’t want the Court to separate them because of their children. He stated that if they are separated it is their children that will suffer because their care will be limited, beside he said he still loves his wife.
Mr. Monsuru Salami agreed that he use to have dispute with his wife but did not use to pursue her with cutlass and shovel. One thing about his wife is that she can’t hold her temperament, he said. Whenever they have dispute, she used to first attack him and there was a time she attacked and stabbed him with stainless cup. Mr. Salami denied that he beat his father he said that any child that beats his parents will surely be beaten by his children.
He further said that immediately he discovered that his wife packed her property from his house, he quickly ran to his wife parents to find her and a meeting was summoned but the outcome of the meeting was that we should come to the Court first.
After listening to both sides, Chief Odunade Ademola, the President of the Customary Court said he observed that by the use of different weapons to attack themselves Mr. and Mrs. Salami’s marriage has become life threatening which the Court will not allow.
Chief Odunade Ademola proclaimed that Mr. Monsuru Salami and Mrs. Alimat Salami are no longer husband and wife, Mr. Monsuru Salami should be paying N8,000 every month to the court which Mrs. Salami will be collecting for the children. Also, anytime he is called for their children school fee and health need, Mr. Salami must come to his children aid. The President of the Court also ruled that the children should be with their mother Mrs. Alimat Salami until they are old enough to decide on their own.