An Abuja based driver, Mr. Garba Pakachi has sought the intervention of a Nyanya Customary Court to dissolve his 22-year-old marriage to his estranged wife, Martha, over the wife’s habit of cooking only once in a week.
The court presided over by Mr. Jemilu Jega granted Pakachi’s request to dissolve the marriage, which he held was beyond being salvaged.
“This court has tried everything within its powers to resolve the issues between the parties, but all efforts proved abortive.
“The irreconcilable differences between the two parties showed that they are no longer compatible; therefore, the marriage is hereby dissolved,’’ Jega held.
The court gave Pakachi the custody of three out of the four children that the 22-year-old marriage produced, while the custody of the last child, aged six, was given to the mother, Martha.
Jega ordered Pakachi to pay N20,000 monthly for the upkeep of the child.
“Because he is the biological father of the child, he must provide N20,000 for the upkeep of the child,” he said.
He also directed that Pakachi should take responsibility for the education and healthcare of the child.
Earlier, Pakachi told the court that Martha cooked for her family only once in a week.
He submitted that Martha could not spend time with the family but gave all attention to her business.
Pakachi, in his divorce petition, also alleged that since he married Martha he had never known peace.
“Since I got married to my wife, we have never had peace in our marriage; she has the habit of disobeying me. Worst of all is that she cooks only once a week,” he said.
The petitioner also said that his wife hardly spent time at home with the family.
“She returns late at night from her business, sometimes she does not return at all till the following day,” he said
Pakachi’s other allegations were that the wife attended nightclubs without his permission.
“One night, around 3:30am, I went to my wife’s room and discovered that she left our last child all alone in the room, and she was nowhere to be found.
“Immediately, I called her phone to know her whereabouts; to my greatest surprise, she told me that she was in a nightclub, and she did not return until 4am,” Pakachi said.
He told the court that all efforts he had made over the years to correct his wife’s behaviour proved abortive and that he was tired of the marriage.
Responding, Martha denied the allegations but said she was no longer interested in the marriage.