Chief Ademola Odunade, the President of a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan, on Wednesday dissolved marriage between one Kehinde Apalara and his wife, Mariam, over persistent threat to life.

The union lasted for 15 years.

In his judgment, Odunade held that women like Mariam deliberately bring about the collapse of their marriage due to their insatiable character.

He advised couples to be very cautious before embarking on a matrimonial course.

The arbitrator subsequently dissolved the union in the interest of peaceful living and awarded custody of the first two children to the plaintiff and the last three to the respondent.

Odunade also directed Kehinde, the plaintiff, to pay N15,000 as the children’s monthly feeding allowance in addition to being responsible for their education and welfare.

Kehinde, a businessman and a resident of Oluyole Extention in Ibadan, had complained about his wife’s persistent assault and the threat to his life.

He further stated that he duly sought Mariam’s permission before going ahead to marry a second wife, adding that she subsequently became unhappy after the wedding ceremony.

“After my marriage to another wife, Mariam told me that the only way I could make her happy again was to rebuild a collapsing business for her and I gave N500,000 cash just three days after the wedding ceremony.

“I also decided to resettle her in my newly built house, but she refused to be pacified as I did everything humanly possible to make her happy.

“During the last Ramadan, I was travelling to Mecca for lesser Hajj and Mariam led some of her younger brothers and some other miscreants to attack me at Lagos-Ibadan tollgate.

” It took the spirited effort of people around to rescue me.

“Worst still, she has moved all her property away from my home including some of my vital documents.

“She resorted to cursing me and even beating up my old mother,” Kehinde said.

The respondent, however, dismissed most of the allegations levelled against her although she supported the divorce suit.

Mariam accused her husband of betrayal, adding that she would never share her matrimonial bed with any woman.

“I no longer love to live with Kehinde again as a wife because he doesn’t even take good care of me and the five children.

“Though he pays the children’s school fees and also feeds us well, the N20,000 he gives me on a monthly basis is too small for us.

“Kehinde keeps flying from one country to another, in fact, the children hardly recognise him.

“He finds it difficult to spend two months out of 12 in Nigeria and when he is around, he beats me up.

“I never led anybody to attack him, Kehinde wanted to kill me that day and the bus drivers and my brothers saved me from his punches.

“Please, don’t allow him to take custody of any of the children because his new wife might poison them as she claims that all the property belongs to her,” Mariam said.

(NAN)