Wife seeks divorce of 11-year-old marriage over molestation

A housewife, Kudirat Shitu, on Thursday urged an Oja-Oba Independent Panel Sharia Court in Ibadan to dissolve her 11-year-old marriage to her husband, Taofeek, for alleged molestation and irresponsibility.

Kudirat told the court that Taofeek, usually humiliate her in public as well as not catering for her needs.

“My lord, ever since I got married to Taofeek , he had subjected me to varying degrees of molestation or public humiliation.

“I am also psychologically and emotionally down because rather than correct my mistakes within our immediate living room, he prefers going outside where people can ridicule and look down on me.

“As if that is not enough, Taofeek is in no way alive to his responsibility as a husband because he does not even fend for me and our four children, let alone clothing our nakedness.

“For instance, we spent the last Ramadan fast in hunger, including the under-aged children who ordinarily should not fast because there was no food.

“Worst still, Taofeek has been preventing people who wanted to render support or monetary assistance to me and the children.

“Please my lord, there is no amount of plea from him that will make me change my mind as my family members have already approved of the separation,” Kudirat said.

Taofeek, 50, denied the allegations of being irresponsible, adding that though it was true that he had in the past cautioned her publicly, but Kudirat was a disobedient wife.

“Ever before I caution her outside, I must have done more than enough in the room and it is as a result of her disobedience, that I made some of those public corrections on her.

“I have, however, stopped that some years back. I have numerous evidence of how I have been so responsible toward Kudirat and the four children based on the level of my economy.

“In fact, in one of the apartments we lived in the past, Kudirat fought the landlord’s daughter, inflicting very serious tooth bites on her of which I paid heavily for the hospital bill.”

He said that it took God’s intervention to stop her from being sent to prison.

The President of the court, Sheikh Ahmad Tirimisiyu, asked the couple to produce evidence to support their arguments.

Tirimisiyu advised Kudirat to be patient, adding that the issue was not serious enough to warrant separation and adjourned the case till Aug. 4, for further hearing.