A mother of three, Mrs Oluwakemi Ucha, has filed a divorce suit over alleged battering by her husband for her refusal to have more children.
Forty-year-old Oluwakemi told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that she could no longer tolerate the frequent beatings.
“My husband, Simeon, beats me like a baby; he threatens to kill me for refusing to give him more children, saying that three children are not enough.
“Last month, he woke me up from sleep and started beating me with a wire. I shouted; people came but they could not rescue me because my husband locked the door before descending on me.
“He told me that he wanted to send me to heaven since I refused to have more babies; he said that I am not longer useful on earth.
“Since that day, I ran away from the house because I might die from the next beating,” Oluwakemi, who had been married to Simeon for 19 years, said.
She showed the court some scars on her body as evidence of the battering, describing her husband as irresponsible.
“He does not care for me nor the children; I feed him, pay our house rent and children’s school fees; he does not drop a penny but he wants more children,’’ the petitioner said.
He prayed the court to dissolve the marriage to save her life.
In his response, Simeon told the court that he wanted more children but his wife refused to cooperate.
“I am not comfortable with three; if she has more, God will take care of them.
“My wife is callous; while I and our family members were begging her to have more children, she aborted a three-month-old pregnancy; that is wickedness.
“She takes family planning drugs without my consent,” he said.
The 45-year-old motorcycle rider, appealed to the court not to dissolve the marriage, saying he still loved his wife.
The Court President, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, asked the parties to come with some members of their families for possible resolution of their conflict.
Omilola adjourned the case until May 16 for further hearing. (NAN)
DOA/YMU/IGO