•‘He said he won’t allow a woman control him’
A 32-year-old woman, Folashade Olaleye has prayed the Alakuko Customary Court in Lagos, to dissolve her 12-year-old marriage.
She is seeking to part ways with her husband Sunday Olaleye, who she accused of deriving pleasure from cursing her.
She said they have been quarrelling since they started living as a couple.
Mrs Olaleye, a trader said a day was never complete without a disagreement.
She said: “His mother has been against our marriage from the outset. I couldn’t back out because I was pregnant. None of his relations attended our child’s dedication but his mother came to assist me after our first child’s birth. As I speak, I don’t relate with any of his relations.
“My husband knows the nature of my business; occasionally, I travel out of the country for three to four days and he always complains each time I return despite using the money to cater for our children’s needs. I once advised him to join me in the business because I have a friend whose husband monitors her shop each time we travel. Instead, my husband said he wouldn’t allow a woman to control his movement. I was sad.
“Since he left home last October, he comes to my place every morning and night to rain curses on me in the presence of our children. I will take care of our children. He is free to visit them whenever he pleases. I don’t need him in my life anymore besides it’s been a year since we slept with each other,” she said.
Olaleye, a 36-year-old motorcyclist, in his defence told the court: “Yes, we disagree a lot and she rains curses on my folks too. It is also true my mother came to nurse our first child but she stopped coming because of my wife’s attitude. On several occasions, both families have advised us on how to reconcile our conflict but my wife never worked on her flaws. I stopped taking alcoholic drinks and smoking because of her. I tried so many ways to let peace reign but instead, she would shout at me asking me to give her a breathing space. She never asked me to join her business.
“She doesn’t have time for our children. She attends more than four social gatherings in a week. In fact, she is footloose and adulterous because I hear a lot of things from neighbours and I once caught her in company of a man at the junction where I work. I did not leave the house willingly. My wife sent me away. Whenever I returned a bit late from work, she sends me back. My clothes are still in her place because I couldn’t take anything when she sent me away. The last time we slept with each other was four months ago and not a year as she claims. I still love her because of our children if not, dissolution is best for us.”
The marriage produced three children.
The court’s President, Chief Awos Awosola, asked Olaleye to pack his clothes at the petitioner’s house and adjourned the case till March 12.
