Court dissolves 38-year-old marriage, asks husband to vacate home

A Mapo Customary Court, Ibadan, on Friday dissolved a 38-year-old marriage between a trader, Justina Bassey, and her estranged husband, Evans, over financial exploitation and a threat to life.

Delivering judgment, the court’s president, Ademola Odunade, said that evil could not strive forever, due to Justina’s eventual realisation that her husband was exploiting her.

Mr Odunade, therefore, dissolved the marriage and ordered the husband to vacate the house immediately, so that there would be peace.

He granted custody of the last child, an underage, to the wife and directed the remaining three adult children to relate with whoever pleases them between their parents.

The court also ordered Mr Bassey to pay N5,000 as the child’s monthly feeding allowance, in addition to being responsible for her education and other welfare.

Earlier, Justina, who lived at Akinbile-Ojo area of Ibadan, said that she made up her mind to discontinue the marriage because her husband was always milking her dry.

She stated that he also relied on the use of voodoo to achieve his evil objectives against her.

“Every day and night, Bassey forces my hard-earned money out of me, and I have no option to reject his overtures.

“He has repeated this over and over, and he has impoverished me.

“Bassey usually invites his friend, who is a witch doctor, to come and carry out his magic anytime he wanted to be mischievous in the house.

“More importantly my lord, Bassey has recently repeated that he would soon kill me if I refuse to grant his financial request.

“As old as I am, he still beats me and doesn’t even perform any form of responsibility on any of the children.

“Worst still, Bassey is trying to claim my house,” she said.

She tendered all the documents as exhibits against her husband.

Mr Bassey, however, opposed the suit and denied all the allegations levelled against him, including the ownership of the house.

The defendant, who earns his living as a commercial motorcyclist, however, said that he and his wife usually engage in physical combats.

“I don’t want to part ways with Justina, but if she is bent on separation, she has to go back to our village in the East, to terminate the union,” he said.

The defendant later tendered some documents in respect of the ownership of the building, which the court found to be faked.

(NAN)