Court dissolves marriage in husband’s absence

By Edith Igbokwe

A Customary court sitting at Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Secretariat has dissolved the marriage between one Mr. Akeem Tijani  and his wife, Mrs. Titilayo Tijani  in the absence of the husband.

The petitioner, Mrs. Tijani had filed to divorce her husband, for failing to play  his roles as husband and father to their four children.

Mrs Tijani also  claimed that their marriage lacked the love to sustain it, adding that her husband constantly fought  neighbours.

She told the court that her husband refused to work, adding that he always incurred debts which she had to settle always.

According to her, the union was contracted on the consent of both families when they started cohabiting without paying any bride prize.

Before  the hearing, the court gave the couple two weeks for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), to reconcile the parties but the effort failed.

During the hearing, the petitioner stated that the husband was not willing to be gainfully employed, adding that she took the financial needs of the family alone with her micro trading business.

She emphasised that her husband was a chronic  debtor and that she has always been the one paying for his debts.

“When I could no longer bear the constant visit of the creditors, I moved out of the matrimonial home to be at peace with my children before I filed for  divorce,” she explained.

Responding, the husband, who accepted that he was not gainfully employed, confirmed that his wife has been the one helping him to pay his creditors and finance the family.

He prayed the court not to dissolve the marriage, promising to change for better and cater for his family.

But the situation worsened when  he reneged on his promises to turn a new leaf and stopped attending court proceedings.

After many efforts to get him to the court proved abortive, the court finally dissolved the marriage in his absence.

The presiding president, Mrs. Adebisi Laditan put all the four children in their mother’s care.

She asked the husband to always provide the financial needs of the children and warned him not to harass the ex-wife at any point in time.

The court gave him the opportunity to take the children  out for holidays but must notify the court, when to take and return the children to their mother.

The court gave both parties copies of the judgment and urged any aggrieved party to make an appeal within 30 days.