A 46-year-old pastor, Joshua Aranse, on Thursday told an Alagbado Customary Court in Lagos that he impregnated another woman and abandoned his matrimonial home for four years because of sex starvation.

“I am a pastor and I counsel people. It is true that I abandoned her. For over four years, she did not allow me have sexual intercourse with her.

“This is why I went out of my way to impregnate another woman,” he told the court while reacting to a request by his 42-year-old wife, Funmilayo, who is seeking the dissolution of their 16-year-old marriage over alleged adultery.

The trader, who resides at No. 18, Adebayo Oloye St., Baba Ijebu Bus Stop, Meiran, a Lagos suburb, also alleged that her husband abandoned his matrimonial home between 2010 and 2014.

Mr. Aranse, however, told the President of the court, Prince A. M. Kosoko, that he abandoned his wife for over four years because his wife denied him sex.

“When I sold the car, I gave her a sum of N40,000 but she used the money to buy second hand shoes to sell.

“I did not commit adultery except the woman I impregnated,” Mr. Aranse said, urging the court to dissolve the marriage, adding “I don’t love her anymore.”

Earlier, the wife had told the court that her husband, a pastor, had in 2010, impregnated another woman.

Funmilayo said: “In 2014, he finally abandoned our matrimonial home.”

“My husband has not set his eyes on his three children since June 30, 2014. He refused to pay their school fees. They no longer go to school because I do not have money to send them to school.

“He sold our car and gave the money to the woman he impregnated. He has refused to take care of the children and I.

“Please separate us because I no longer love him.”

In his ruling, the court’s president ordered the respondent to pay N15,000 for the upkeep of the three children until the case was disposed of.

He directed the man to bring the feeding allowance to the court and adjourned the continuation of trial until March 13.

(NAN)