A man, Adekola Ayodele, has dragged his wife, Bolanle before a Mapo Grade A Customary Court in Ibadan, seeking divorce on grounds of incessant beatings as well as attempting to cut off his private parts.
Ayodele, a mechanic, said: “I never enjoyed any moment of peace since I married my wife.
“Bolanle has no regards for me. She sends her brother to beat me up for no reason.
“Worst still, she nearly killed me the last time because she held my private parts with the intention to cut them off.
“In fact, Bolanle got me arrested over a matter I knew nothing about.
“In short, her wish is to control me.”
However, Bolanle, a trader, was silent on most of the allegations leveled against her.
“My lord, everything I did was in self defence. Our last fight had to do with the issue of who should take the children to school.
“My relatives and his tried on many occasions to intervene, but no amicable solution was reached.
“I squeezed his private parts because Ayodele put his hands on me. He grabbed my neck in an attempt to strangle me.
“He starves our three children and I am not interested in the marriage anymore,” Bolanle said.
The president of the court, Mrs S.M. Akintayo, in her judgment, held that Ayodele could not substantiate his earlier claim that he paid bride price before securing Bolanle’s hand in marriage and so rendered the traditional marriage invalid.
According to her, there is no marriage to be dissolved between them.
The court’s president, however, said since they were no longer interested in living together under the same roof, they were free to go their separate ways.
