Ekiti court dissolves 8-year-old marriage over lack of care, irreconcilable differences

A customary court sitting in Ikole-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government, Ekiti State, has dissolved an eight-year-old marriage between Mr Adeleye Odeleye and his wife, Mercy. The president of the court, Mrs Yemisi Ojo, dissolved the marriage yesterday on grounds of lack of care for the couple’s children and irreconcilable differences. Mercy, 34, had petitioned for divorce on […]

A customary court sitting in Ikole-Ekiti, Ikole Local Government, Ekiti State, has dissolved an eight-year-old marriage between Mr Adeleye Odeleye and his wife, Mercy.

The president of the court, Mrs Yemisi Ojo, dissolved the marriage yesterday on grounds of lack of care for the couple’s children and irreconcilable differences.

Mercy, 34, had petitioned for divorce on allegations that Odeleye was treating her like a slave and was not taking care of their three children.

She explained that the respondent, in 2018, gave her a sum of N150,000 to start a business and then stopped being financially responsible for the welfare of the children.

She added that they were having series of disagreements and had to leave the matrimonial home in September 2018, although she came back later after family intervention.

The woman alleged that in July 2019, Odeleye abandoned her and the children and went to Ado Ekiti to live, adding that she was compelled to take the children to him there when they kept asking of him.

Mercy sought a court order for custody of all the children to enable her “monitor them effectively”, and another one for the respondent to be paying a sum of N30,000 monthly for the upkeep of the children.

Odeleye, a 48-year-old civil servant, denied the allegations Mercy levelled against him, maintaining he had always been responsible for the welfare of the children from their birth till date.

He said the petitioner had “an unforgiving spirit” and always left the home whenever they had disagreements.

Odeleye agreed with Mercy’s request that the court should dissolve the marriage.

He told the court he could not afford to be paying N30,000 monthly as upkeep allowance for the children, claiming he once obtained a loan on Mercy’s behalf and the money was still being deducted monthly from his salary.

Mrs Ojo awarded the first and second children to the custody of the respondent “in the best interest of the children’s education and welfare”, while she gave custody of the last child to the petitioner.

She also ordered that the respondent be responsible for the three children’s school fees.