An Igando Customary Court in Lagos State on Monday terminated a 25-year-old marriage, following persistent pleas of an estranged woman that she would go no further in the relationship.
Petitioner Blessing Adeosun got her wish and ended the troubled union, having described her pastor husband as a deadbeat, who was not good in anything.
Blessing, 49, had approached the court for the dissolution of the marriage, saying that Lukmon Adeosun had abandoned his responsibility as a husband and father since he received `pastoral calling’.
“For the past three years, Lukmon abandoned us to live in the church all in the name of pastoral work.
“I shouldered all the responsibilities of paying house rent, children’s school fees and feeding.”
Blessing, a nurse, said that her husband also accused her of infidelity.
“He accused me of having an affair with a pastor, who I always invite to pray before taking delivery of pregnant women.”
She said that Lukmon was now trying to claim a house she single-handedly built with her money because of her desire to end the marriage.
Lukmon, however, explained that he hardly stayed at home because of his missionary work, saying that Blessing had started acting strangely when he became a pastor.
“My wife’s attitude suddenly changed, she started attending clubs and other social events.
“As a pastor’s wife she always absented herself from church activities,’’ he said, confirming also that that he had accused Blessing of infidelity.
“I accused her of having an affair with another pastor because that pastor had told me several times to send my wife away that she is an agent of the devil.
“So, when I started seeing them together regularly, I concluded that they are having an affair.”
Lukmon, 51, said that he was claiming his wife’s house because what belonged to his wife also belonged to him.
He, however, begged the court not to grant Blessing’s wish for the dissolution of the marriage because he was still in love with her.
Delivering his judgment, the President of the court, Mr Akin Akinniyi, noted that the petitioner was adamant, in spite of mediations from the court and family interventions.
“The petitioner refused to shift ground after several interventions, which indicates that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
“Therefore, the court has no choice than to grant the prayer of the petitioner; in spite of the fact that the husband still claims he loves her.
“The court pronounces the marriage between Blessing Adeosun and Lukmon Adeosun dissolved today. Both parties henceforth, cease to be husband and wife.
“Each of you should go on your separate ways unmolested. The court wishes both of you well in your new journeys of life.
“The first two children, who have attained the age of maturity, are free to stay with either parent but the other two, who are under 18 years of age should remain with their mother,” Akinniyi ruled. (NAN)