The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Idi Ogungun Customary Court

  • My husband plans to sell our child to pay dowry 10 years after

    My husband plans to sell our child to pay dowry 10 years after

    In a desperate bid to pay his wife’s bride price 10 years after impregnating her and luring her into cohabitation, Mr Ekwene Itba, is planning to sell one of his children to pay the bride price, a divorce-seeking woman, Esther Itba, told an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court at Agodi in Ibadan on Monday.

    “My Lord, I kept on worrying him to pay my dowry until we had three children,  but he refused until recently when he sought my approval to allow him to sell one of our three children to pay the dowry and formalise our marriage,” she said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Esther had approached the court seeking the dissolution of her 10-year-old “union” on the grounds of non-payment of dowry, ill-treatment and failure to carry out his responsibility.

    Esther told the court that Itba made love to her sometimes in 2007 and also impregnated her with a promise to pay her dowry later.

    “I thought he was joking but kept on asking me to allow him to sell one of our kids if I wanted him to pay the money.

    “Also I shouldered alone all the responsibilities for the feeding, school fees and other expenses of the three children.

    “I, therefore, urged the court to dissolve the union because I can no longer trust him following his plan to sell one of our children,” she said.

    The husband, Itba, denied the allegations, saying he had paid the dowry and also formalised his union with Esther.

    He also denied any plan to sell one of his children for any purpose but described Esther as a troublesome woman, who never respected him as a husband.

    He, however, objected to the dissolution of the marriage, saying “I do not want the children to suffer”.

    The President of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, adjourned the case for a possible settlement.

    He said the court was more interested in settlement of marriage disputes rather than dissolution, urging the couple to resolve their differences.

    The case was adjourned until Sept. 6.

  • Court dissolves five-year-old marriage over threat to life

    Court dissolves five-year-old marriage over threat to life

    An Idi-Ogungun Customary Court in Ibadan on Tuesday dissolved the five-year-old marriage between one Musibau Akinola and his wife, Bukola, over threat to life.

    Musibau had sought the order of the court to end the union on the ground that his wife was in the habit of fomenting trouble and cursing him.

    He said the union, which produced a child, had turned sour and should be dissolved.

    The petitioner also prayed the court to allow him have the custody of the only child of the marriage to ensure proper care.

    Bukola, however, denied the allegations against her and rather accused the plaintiff of threatening her life.

    The respondent said she never experienced peace in her matrimonial home and consented to the divorce.

    She, however, pleaded with the court not to grant the custody of the child to the petitioner.

    Bukola urged the court to grant her custody of the child in order to ensure proper upbringing.

    The President of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, dissolved the marriage and gave the custody of the child to the respondent.

    Balogun, who also ordered the plaintiff to pay N3,000 monthly allowance for the upkeep of the child, told  both parties to maintain peace.

     

  • My wife beats me at will – Man tells court

    My wife beats me at will – Man tells court

    A retiree, Taofeek Giwa, Friday pleaded with an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court, Agodi-Ibadan, to dissolve his seven-year-old marriage with Abiodun Omotayo, on the ground that the respondent routinely beats  him.

    Giwa who recently retired from the Nigerian Prisons Service, on June 9, filed a suit, seeking dissolution of the marriage.

    In his testimony, the petitioner said Omotayo had turned him to a punching bag,using her  huge stature to oppress and harass him.

    “She beats me on any slight provocation, I dare not correct her mistake,” he said.

    “In fact she is in the habit of tearing my cloth.

    “My lord, the worst she did recently was that she poisoned my meal in an attempt to kill me and I am not ready to die yet.

    “I plead with the court to separate us to avoid untimely death so that I can take care of my children and enjoy the fruits of my labour.

    “This is because I just retired from active service to my country and I want to enjoy the fruit of my labour.’’ Giwa said.

    Omotayo in her defence, denied all the allegations, but told the court that the petitioner was the one who used to pursue her with machete.

    She agreed with the divorce request, saying she was tired of living with the plaintiff because of his adulterous life.

    She, however, prayed the court to grant him custody of the only child of the marriage for proper upbringing.

    President of the court, Mukaila Balogun, dissolved the marriage and gave the custody of the only child to the respondent.

    Balogun further ordered the plaintiff to pay N3, 000 monthly allowance to the defendant for the maintenance of the child.

    He appealed to both parties to maintain peace and jointly take care of the only child of the marriage

     

  • Man in court over failure to repay loan

    A 70-year-old man, Alhaji Yaya Ayinde, was on Wednesday arraigned before an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court at Agodi, Ibadan, for failing to repay a loan of N10,000 he used to buy Sallah ram.

    The plaintiff, Mrs Alice Opaleye, told the court that Ayinde also bought Ankara cloth valued N3,500 from her for the festival.

    Narrating her relationship with the defendant, Opaleye told the court that she employed Ayinde, who was a friend to her late husband, as her personal driver some years back.

    “Initially, I asked him to assist me look for a driver, but he begged me to give him the job, which I agreed and he drove me for nine months.

    “It was in the course of working with me that he borrowed the money and bought the cloth with a promise to pay back soonest.

    “Later, he stopped working with me and refused to pay the debt despite several appeals made to him about the money.”

    On whether she had other relationship with the defendant apart from driving her, the plaintiff said, “He was a close friend to my late husband and use to visit me after my husband’s demise.

    “In fact I used to cook and care for him throughout the period that I hired him as my personal driver.”

    In his defence, Ayinde admitted owing the debt and promised to pay the plaintiff.

    He implored the court to plead with her to give him more time within which to pay back the loan.

    Ayinde also said the woman was his friend’s wife, however, claimed that she had not paid him for the nine months he worked as her driver.

    He admitted that the plaintiff fed him for the nine months, but denied ever having illicit affair with her.

    “I prayed the court to beg her for me because she has threatened to deal with me and cannot overlook her threat.

    “She is powerful spiritually and do not want to die now, I promise to pay the debt before the end of May if the court allows me, “Ayinde pleaded.

    The President of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, in his ruling, gave the defendant a grace of 20 days to pay the debt.

    Balogun pleaded with both parties to embrace peace and refrain from anything that could lead to breakdown of law and order.

     

     

  • Court dissolves 10-year-old marriage over husband’s drunkenness

    An Idi-Ogungun Customary Court, Agodi, Ibadan in Oyo State,  on Wednesday dissolved a 10-year-old marriage between Shina Ismaila and Olaremi Ismaila over  Shina’s  drunkenness.

    The president of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, and the court’s assessors, Ganiyu Alao and Aare Samotu, in their unanimous decision dissolved the marriage.
    The court also ruled that the first two children should be in the custody of the defendant while the last child should be with the plaintiff.
    The court also ruled that the defendant should be paying N3,500  to the plaintiff  as  monthly allowance for the upkeep of the child in her custody.
    Earlier, the 28-year-old housewife, Olaremi, had told the court that her husband, Shina, was a stunt-drunkard and was always beating her whenever she refused to clean his mess after vomiting.
    Olaremi alleged that her husband was also a gambler and never took care of her and their three children.
    “I dare not advise him against gambling nor cautioned him over his excessive drinking habit; in fact, he hardly listens to his parents’ advice.
    “The worse thing is that he steals my money to gamble whenever he is broke and has ruined my business.
    “ I regret marrying him and I pray the court to separate us before he ruins my entire life,’’ she pleaded.
    The complainant, Olaremi, also prayed the court to grant her the custody of the children.
    Ismaila, a bricklayer, did not oppose the request of his estranged wife but denied beating her.

    He said that his wife that was fond of cursing him whenever they had misunderstandings.
    He also objected to Oluremi’s plea that she should have the custody of the three children produced by the marriage.

     

    He said that Oluremi did not have the means of livelihood to cater for the wellbeing of the children.

     

  • Wife pours boiling water on hubby’s manhood in Ibadan

    Adeyinka Adelakun, a middle aged public school teacher in Ibadan, on Thursday narrated how his wife, kafayat, poured boiling water on his manhood which seriously injured him.

    Adelakun had approached an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court at Agodi in Ibadan seeking the dissolution of his three-year-old marriage to his wife on grounds of threat to life and constant fighting.

    He also prayed the court to allow him have in his custody the two-year –old child of the marriage so that he could effectively take care of the child.

    According to the plaintiff, kafayat is in the habit of fighting him and threatening him whenever they have domestic issues to resolve.

    “On Feb 27, 2016, she started her trouble as usual and I decided to call her mother on phone to caution her, but kafayat brought a kettle of hot water from the kitchen and poured it on my genitals and chest.

    “The pain was too much, I was rushed to hospital due to the severe injuries I sustained and I stayed in the hospital for months.

    “Even I cannot use my injured manhood for any sexual act till now because it has not healed and I decided to quit the marriage to avoid untimely death.

    “Am afraid of living with a woman that wanted to finish my manhood because she may do more harm if allow her in my life, “ he said.

    Adelakun presented pictures of his injured genitals as exhibits to prove his case and the court admitted the pictures.

    In her defense, Kafayat admitted the allegation, but said that it was not intentional and that the hot water mistakenly poured on her husband when he wanted to beat her.

    The defendant told the court that she was arrested because of the incident and the matter was resolved later.

    Kafayat did not agree with the dissolution, saying she still loved her husband in spite of ill-treatment and lack of care from the plaintiff.

    The Court President, Chief Mukaila Balogun, and two assessors, Aare Samotu and Ganiyu Alao, in their unanimous decision, dissolved the marriage.

    Balogun said the opinion of the court was that there was no more love between the couple and the parties should go their separate ways to avoid more trouble.

    The court further directed that the only child of the union should be in the custody of her mother and ordered the plaintiff to pay N4, 000 as monthly allowance for the upkeep of the child.

    “The plaintiff should also pay N12, 000 and N5, 000 to the defendant to rent a new apartment and to pack her belongings respectively, “the court ruled.

     

  • My husband has no respect for elders, woman tells court

    A house wife, Rasidat Odubonojo, on Tuesday told an Idi Ogungun Customary Court at  Agodi, Ibadan, that her  estranged husband, has no  respect for elders.

    Her husband, Babatunde, had approached the court seeking dissolution of his three-year-old marriage to Rasidat on the grounds that his mother in-law was seeking to control   his matrimonial home.

    The plaintiff also told the court that his wife packed out of her matrimonial home to live with her parents without notifying him.

    But in her response, Rasidat told the court that arrogance, high temperament, selfishness and lack of respect for elders were the best words to describe the father of her one-year-old baby.

    According to her, Babatunde pretended to be the best-behaved man on earth when courting her, only to reveal his real character traits after marriage.

    “I saw hell in the first year of our marriage because I had three miscarriages and he never showed me love as he promised.

    “It got to a point that I decided to quit the marriage, but my parents encouraged me not to divorce, appealing that he would change when I have baby for him.

    “He had insulted my parents on several occasions when they were   trying to settle our differences.

    “I gave birth to the only child of the marriage through Caesarean Section which almost claimed my life.

    “I packed out of my matrimonial home when I could no longer cope with his bad attitude toward me and he did not bother to look after me nor the only child for three months.

    “I support and agree with his decision to end the marriage because he is not worth to be called a responsible husband,” Rasidat told the court.

    In his judgment, Chief Mukaila Balogun, the President of the court, said it was clear that   both parties no longer   love each other.

    “They therefore cease to be husband and wife henceforth and should go their separate ways,” he said.

    Balogun, however, ordered the plaintiff to pay a monthly allowance of  N5,000 for the maintenance of the only child of the marriage.

     

  • Court orders DNA test over paternity of 3-year-old

    An Idi Ogungun Customary Court in  Agodi, Ibadan, on Monday ordered  a DNA test  to be conducted  to  determine the biological father of a three-year-old boy.

    The President of the court, Chief  Mukaila Balogun,   gave the order  when the mother of the child,  Monsurat Adeleke, and her estranged lover, Bayo Ogunsola, could not convince  the court  on the boy’s  paternity.

    Balogun directed that the two parties share the cost of the DNA test and return to the court on March 27 with the result.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the mother of the child had disagreed with  her erstwhile lover  over  who the real father of  the  child was Monsurat had on Feb. 14  approached the court, seeking an order to restrain Bayo  from parading himself as the biological father of her son.

    She claimed that she was six months pregnant for her husband before she met him  in a hotel.

    According to Monsurat, the respondent had cast a spell on her  and this  made her to leave her matrimonial home to live with him.

    She claimed she was under the spell for three years, adding that  it was during that time that she gave birth to the boy.

    The petitioner said she left for her matrimonial home recently when the spell was broken.

    Bayo, in his defence, insisted that the complainant conceived and gave birth to the child in his house, contrary to her claims.

    The respondent said he met Monsurat in a hotel owned by his brother and they both lived together after she ceased going to the hotel with other men.

    He insisted that Monsurat  conceived and gave birth to the boy while they were living together until she recently packed out of his house and returned to her former husband.