Ibadan court dissolves marriage over domestic violence

Taiwo Omotosho, a woman asking for a divorce from her abusive husband, got her wish done by a Grade A Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Taiwo, who is the plaintiff, told the court that her husband, Kolawole Omotosho, abused her serially and once got her arrested.

She also accused Kolawole of neglecting his responsibilities to her and their children and claimed she had been the only one catering for the family.

“He fights me over trivial issues and beats me till I bleed on regular basis,” Taiwo said.

She added: “I feel sour and nurse wounds as a result of his brutal behaviour.

“Kolawole refused to be up to his responsibilities in the home. He does not give me feeding allowance and is never interested in how the children and I survive each day. I was initially selling foodstuff and I fed my family from my stock on daily basis.

“My business eventually collapsed after I spent both the proceeds from it and the capital on feeding my husband and our children and clothing them.

“He gave me little or no attention the three times I was pregnant despite my feeble state because I had our three children through caesarian operation. I hardly ate enough neither did he make funds available for both my antenatal and post natal care.

Taiwo also urged the court to retrieve from her husband documents of the house she claimed to have built single-handed.

Claiming he took the documents forcefully from her, Taiwo said, “My lord, we once had an argument over my property and Kolawole almost snuffed life out of me. He collected all the documents in connection with the house I built single-handedly from me.

“My husband, in order to deal with me, leveled a false accusation against me. He got me arrested by the police and I was detained with my baby for two days.

“We were given no food for over 24 hours. My baby cried all day and was later given pap to drink.

“The police personel on night duty beat me throughout the night. They didn’t stop until I fainted. The DPO offered me banana which I ate after I was resuscitated.

“My Lord, I will be living an unfulfilled life staying married to my husband. He has made my life miserable enough. I want to pick up the pieces of my life and move on which was why I came to court.

“I pray this honourable court to end our union and grant me custody of our children because they need my attention and care. But he should be responsible for their welfare, education and health care.

“I also entreat the court to please retrieve the documents pertaining to my house from him.

“I again plead that the court restrain him from fighting me or interfering with my private life.

The court president, Mrs. S.M Akintayo, said the defendants shunned court summons and appeared uninterested in keeping his marriage.

Akintayo dissolved the marriage, granted Taiwo custody of their children, and restrained Kolawole from harassing her. Kolawole was  ordered to pay the sum of N20, 000 per month through the court as the children’s feeding allowance.

She instructed the plaintiff to grant the defendant access to their children and mandated them to both be responsible for their education.

The defendant was restrained from harassing the plaintiff.

Both were advised to maintain peace.