A woman who has endured some years of torture in her marriage and can take it no more, has come out to seek help from her misery.
Ayodele Oluwakemi, a caterer, on Friday prayed an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her four-year-old marriage because her husband forced her to kill her unborn babies by terminating three pregnancies.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, she said that there was also no love lost between her and her husband, Famurewa Oladimeji.
Oluwakemi, 28, residing at No. 5, Adekanbi Taylor Close, Okeira in Ogba, Lagos, also stated that her husband was irresponsible and did not care for her and their three-year-old daughter.
The petitioner also told court that her husband abandoned her and the daughter.
She said, “My husband lies a lot. Initially, when I met him, he lied that he was working, which I found out later was all lies.
“Whenever I ask him for money, he keeps giving me excuses and refuses to drop money.
“Later, I became pregnant for him and my husband forced me to abort it, saying he was not ready financially.”
Oluwakemi disclosed that she had aborted three pregnancies on the insistence of the respondent, whom she described as highly irresponsible and lazy.
She said, “He never had an apartment of his own and kept collecting money from me until I insisted he got a proper job or business.’’
The petitioner said that when she conceived of their only child, her father refused her husband’s marriage proposal, until he got an apartment of his own.
She said, “Whenever I call him, he always told me that he will call me back, which he never did.”
She begged court to terminate the marriage, saying that she wanted to move on with her life and also wanted the respondent to be responsible for the upkeep of their child.
Oladimeji, 34, a businessman, however denied the allegations but said that he no longer loved Oluwakemi, pleading with court to dissolve the marriage.
He alleged that when Oluwakemi took in for him, her father threatened to kill him.
He said, “I accepted to take up responsibility when my wife became pregnant. My family and I went with the marriage proposal but her father refused to attend to us.’’
Oladimeji said that he felt his wife’s father refused his proposal because he didn’t have a good job.
He said, “My wife’s parents do not accord me the proper respect as their daughter’s husband. They disregard me and call me all sorts of names.’’
He said that his father-in-law had prevented him from seeing his child.
He said, “My father in-law threatened me to stay away from my wife and also stopped me from seeing my child.’’
The President of the court, Mr Phillips Williams, admonished the estranged couple and scolded the petitioner for terminating three pregnancies.
Williams adjourned the case till February 28 for hearing.