My husband has refuse to legalise our union – Woman tells court

A businesswoman, Morenike Ajani, on Monday, urged an Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve her 23-year old marriage to her husband, Wasiu Ajani for lack of care.

The petitioner, who resides at Kolawole Street, Papa Ashafa in 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 make any attempt to legalise our union.

“He is a drunkard, who drinks to stupor and misbehaves; and this usually leads to a serious disagreement 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, stressing that the man 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 said 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, clothing and feeding them and my husband does not care whether we are alive or dead.

“He told my first child to learn a trade even when the chap wanted to further his education.

“All my husband does is to drink and engage in extra marital affairs.

“He is not caring and lacks respect for the institution of marriage; please separate us, I can no longer live with him,” she pleaded.

The respondent, however, urged 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.

He admitted that he was also flirting with other women because his wife refused to have sex with him; since my body is not firewood, l decided to go out,”

Ajani told the court that he refused to legalise the union because of 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, who advised the estranged couple to keep the peace, adjourned the case to April 10 for judgment.