After 11 years, an Igando Customary Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday dissolved the marriage between Mrs Kafila Usman and her husband, Sheu, over her brother-in-law’s constant beatings.
The court president, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, in his judgment, said that it was obvious from available testimony and the respondent’s refusal to appear in court, that the marriage had hit the rocks.
“Throughout the duration of this case, the respondent refused to honour court processes.
“Therefore, the court has no other choice than to dissolve the marriage.
“The marriage between Mrs Kafilat Usman and Mr Sheu Usman is hereby dissolved today.
“Both parties are no longer husband and wife; both are free to go their separate ways without any hindrances and molestation,’’ Omilola said.
The petitioner, Mrs Kafilat Usman, has approached the court to dissolve her marriage, citing constant battering by her husband’s brother.
“My brother-in-law has turned me into a punching bag. He beats me at the slightest excuse.
“There is nobody in the house to rescue me from him because only the two of us are living in the house my husband built,’’ the mother of two, who also accused her husband of abandonment, told the court.
She said: “My husband abandoned me to his 27-year-old brother about two years ago, relocated to Abuja and married another woman.
“His brother has been brutalising me; there was a day he beat me to the point that I was hospitalised.
“I asked my husband to either get an apartment for his brother or look for an alternative accommodation for my children and I in Lagos; or better still, relocate us to Abuja, but he refused.
“My brother-in-law has been bringing his gang to the house to smoke and drink.
“In fact, I am no longer comfortable as they can harm me one day,’’ the estranged wife said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the husband refused to appear in court after several summons.
Kalifat also accused the husband of failing to take care of her and the children since he relocated to Abuja.
“I have been feeding them and paying their school fees,’’ said Kalifat, who pleaded with the court to terminate the marriage. (NAN)