The 11-year-old marriage of a
pastor at Rhema Pentecostal Church International in Sango-Ota area of Ogun
state has hit the rocks as an Agege Customary Court in Lagos on Monday severed
the union.
The marriage between the pastor,
Ijeoma Okoli, and her husband, Ifeanyi Okoli, was dissolved over domestic
violence.
The President of the court, Mrs.
Ibironke Elabor said she observed that the estranged couple was tired of the
marriage as all efforts aimed at reconciling them had failed.
“Since both parties consented to
the dissolution of the marriage; this court has no choice but to dissolve the
marriage.
“The court hereby pronounce the
marriage between Mrs Ijeoma Okoli and Mr Ifeanyi Okoli dissolved today, both
parties henceforth cease
to be husband and wife,” she
ruled.
The court president gave the
custody of the two children of the marriage to the petitioner and instructed
the respondent to pay N20,000 monthly for their upkeep, education and other
bills.
“Both parties are free to go
their separate ways without any hindrance or molestation.”
Earlier, Ijeoma, 36, a mother of
two, who lives at Salako St., Ogba, Lagos told the court that she was fed up
with her husband’s bad character.
“My husband is aggressive,
untrustworthy and troublesome.
“He failed to tell me that he is
addicted to drugs which l later discovered after our traditional marriage in
2007,” she said.
The petitioner told the court
that her husband no longer love and care for her, and was nonchalant about the
welfare of their children.
“I want peace, l do not want any
problem in my life, the court should end our marriage as I do not love him
again.”
The petitioner, an indigene of
Delta, described her husband as a drug addict, saying he has become aggressive
towards her and the
children.
“As a result of the drugs, he has
become very violent and he abuses me and the children by pouncing on us when he
is angry; he may
kill us one day if I do not end
the marriage.
“I joined him in India in 2009
after I had our first child, when I got to India I realized that my husband is
a drug addict.
“The marriage is toxic full of
domestic violence, verbal abuses and threats to life.”
Ijeoma also said she had been
separated from her husband since 2013, when she and her children returned to
Nigeria from India.
She added: “I have been
responsible for our children’s upkeep and I am the one who pays their school
fees.
“My husband is violent and l can
no longer bear the pains; l do not want to lose my life.
“I pray the court to separate us
so that I can live comfortably with my children.”
She pleaded with the court to
grant her custody of their children and to help facilitate the return of the
bride price Ifeanyi paid in accordance to their tradition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the petitioner’s husband, Ifeanyi, did not appear in court but had
given his consent for the dissolution of the marriage.
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