Saturday, February 1, 2025 -A Mapo Grade A Customary Court in Ibadan on Friday dissolved a 21-year-old marriage of an Ibadan-based caterer, Omotayo Kumunyi after she accused her husband of poisoning and domestic violence.
Kumunyi, a
resident of the Osungbade area of Ibadan, stated that her husband, Olatunde,
does not cater for her and their four children.
She added
that when the problem became too much for her to bear, she moved away with
three of her children while the second child remained with the father.
“My lord,
about five years ago, our third child confided in me that she usually saw her
father pouring some black substance into my own food whenever I was not there.
“I was
shocked by this piece of information and confronted him with the revelation.
“Subsequently,
I invited him to eat part of the food, and he declined to taste it.
”As if that
was not enough, Olatunde regularly turned our first child and me into a
punching bag anywhere he came across us.
“I also
beg the court to grant me custody of the children because Olatunde will not
adequately take care of them,” Kumunyi said.
However,
Olatunde a resident of Number 2 Olatunde Street, Police Post at Challenge in
Ibadan, who earned his living as a carpenter, acknowledged payment of
dowry to his wife’s parents.
He told
the court that he would only be willing to pay N5,000 as the children’s monthly
upkeep if the court refused to award him custody of the children.
“I want to take custody of the children because Kumunyi has the habit of maltreating the last two children.
Delivering
judgment, the court’s president, Mrs S.M. Akintayo, pronounced the marriage
dissolved, stating that it was duly contracted judging from the evidence
presented.
Akintayo
granted Kumunyi custody of the last three children and directed Olatunde to pay
a monthly feeding allowance of N20,000 for their upkeep while being
responsible for their education and other welfare.
“The first
child is 18 years of age, and because he is an adult by law, he has the right
to choose whoever to live with between his two parents.
“However,
the petitioner must allow the respondent reasonable access to the children,”
she said.
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