Woman accuses husband of philandering, seeks divorce

A businesswoman, Mrs Morenike Ajani, yesterday urged an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her 23-year-old marriage to her husband, Wasiu Ajani, allegedly for lack of care, philandering and alcoholism. Morenike, who resides at Kolawole Street, Papa Ashafa, in the Orile Agege area of Lagos, told the court that she was no longer interested […]

A businesswoman, Mrs Morenike Ajani, yesterday urged an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her 23-year-old marriage to her husband, Wasiu Ajani, allegedly for lack of care, philandering and alcoholism.

Morenike, who resides at Kolawole Street, Papa Ashafa, in the Orile Agege area of Lagos, told the court that she was no longer interested in the union.

“My husband is irresponsible; he has refused to legalise our union. He is a drunkard, who drinks to stupor and misbehaves, which usually leads to serious disagreements between us,” she said.

The petitioner said she had to move out of her husband’s house in 2013 when life became unbearable for her, alleging that the man had continued to threaten her life.

“I can no longer bear the emotional and verbal torture I suffer in his hands. We no longer behave like a couple because my husband does not give me peace of mind, neither does he fend for the family,” she said.

She added that her husband had not been responsible for their children’s education and upkeep for the past three years. “I have been paying the children’s school fees, buying their clothes and feeding them, and my husband does not care whether we are alive or dead.

“He ordered my first child to learn a trade when what the chap wanted to do was advance his education. All my husband does is drink and engage in extramarital affairs. He is not caring and lacks respect for the institution of marriage. Please separate us, I can no longer live with him,” Morenike pleaded.

Ajani, however, begged the court not to dissolve his marriage, claiming that he still loved his wife.

“I try my best to cater for my family but my wife is never satisfied,” he said.

The respondent, who described the petitioner as “a serial flirt,” alleged that she was dating his neighbour’s husband.

While admitting he was also a philanderer, he said it was because his wife refused to have sex with him. “Since my body is not firewood, l decided to go out,” he argued.

Ajani told the court that he refused to legalise the union because of what he called his wife’s lack of seriousness. “She keeps moving in and out of the marriage whenever there is any misunderstanding between us,” he said.

The court’s president, Mrs Ibironke Elabor, advised the estranged couple to keep the peace and adjourned the case to April 10, 2018 for judgment.