An auto mechanic, Olumayowa Afolabi, on Tuesday urged an Ile-Tuntun Customary Court in Ibadan to dissolve his 17-year-old marriage to his estranged wife, Mojisola, on grounds of disrespect, a threat to life and frequent assault.

In his testimony before the court, the petitioner, who lives at Odeyan-Akanran road in Ibadan, said that he was no longer willing to continue in the relationship with his wife so as to save himself the embarrassment of constant slaps from her.

“My lord, if someone had told me that Mojisola would turn out to be beating me, I would have argued that it was impossible.

“It all began in 2018 when she first gave me a deafening slap when I challenged the bad role she played in the fight among four young teachers living in our house.

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“Ever since that time, Mojisola does not hesitate to slap me anytime there was an issue between both of us.

“In fact, she got so used to slapping me that she even did it in the presence of her younger siblings who themselves complained against it,’’ he said.

Olumayowa said that her misbehaviour climaxed on Jan. 1, during the crossover service in church when Mojisola humiliated him by pushing him away in front of the congregation when spouses were exchanging greetings.

“Worst still, she stripped me naked and beat the hell out of me around May because I prevented her from going out late in the night to collect her phone.

“Mojisola has repeatedly shown it times without number that she no longer loves me and as a result denies me my conjugal rites,” Olumayowa said.

However, Mojisola prayed the court not to dissolve the union, adding that her close friend, who was in an amorous relationship with her husband, was the cause of the crack in their marriage.

She also denied slapping Olumayowa.

“Our church and family friend named Esther Oluremi, who my husband engaged to run our poultry farm, is the one causing disaffection in our matrimonial home.

“The woman has sent her husband packing from his matrimonial home and when we visited her on Jan. 1, this year, I was in the sitting room when Olumayowa went to her bedroom and I saw him putting makeup powder on her face.

“That was the reason why I pushed Olumayowa in the church.

“He has also given custody of our children to Oluremi,” Mojisola explained.

In her counterclaim, Oluremi said that Mojisola, her friend, was a pathological liar.

She contended that the poultry farm was jointly owned by her and Afolabi’s family and that the children were living with her because they were studying with her own children.

Delivering judgment, Chief Henry Agbaje, held that the damage done to the relationship was irredeemable, hence the dissolution.

He awarded custody of the first two children produced by the union to the petitioner and the last to the respondent.

The arbitrator also ordered Olumayowa to pay N4, 000 as the child’s monthly feeding allowance in addition to taking responsibility of her education and other basic needs. (NAN)