My wife stabbed me, hit me in the head with a pestle, the man tells the court

On December 14, 2024By Online Niel

A man, Rotimi, has approached a Grade A Customary Court, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, seeking dissolution of the 15-year-old marriage between him and his wife, Abigail, on grounds of irreconcilable differences and violence.

Rotimi stated that he and his wife started having problems early in their marriage which they found difficult to resolve. He added that they gradually lost interest in each other, which led to a breakdown in communication, and the two lived as strangers.

According to the complainant, the defendant became violent and once stabbed him with a knife.

Another time, he hit him on the head with a pestle.

Rotimi also said that the crises in their marriage almost shattered her life as it led to depression.

Rotimi offered Abigail custody of their only child being a woman, but demanded unlimited access to her.

Abigail refused to appear in court despite being served with subpoenas.

Rotimi, in his testimony, said: “I paid through the nose to marry my wife, but she later became a thorn in my flesh.

“Her parents collected 300,000 lei from me as her bride price, and I gave that to her easily because I love her.

“Gradually, as we got into our marriage, she started to change.

“My once loving and caring wife has become cold and distant.

“He could care less about my well-being and was neglectful.

“My wife and I lived like

the cat and the mouse.

“We always fought because we never agreed on anything.

“Abigail became rude and aggressive.

“She had no respect for me as head of the dorm and always insisted on coming back for her.

“We had a lot of unresolved issues in our marriage because it was hard to sit down and have a meaningful conversation.

“This led to a breakdown in our communication and we both lived as strangers.

“I could have been a dead man by now, but for…

“My wife became bold and violent.

“Abigail once stabbed me with a knife during a fight and I bled profusely.

“On another occasion, he hit me on the head with a pestle and almost broke my skull.

“I felt scared and insecure living with my wife, which led to depression.

“Later, my wife abandoned me and left with our only child.”

“Master, I want to move on with my life, which is why I came to court this morning.

“I pray this honorable court to end my marriage with my wife.

“I also request that our only child, being a female, be placed in my wife’s custody while I have access to her.

“I promise to remain responsible for her maintenance, education and any other needs.”

The presiding judge, Mrs SM Akintayo, while delivering her judgment, said the defendant was given ample opportunity to defend himself but refused to appear in court.

According to her, the court had no choice but to grant the plaintiff the reparation he requested.

In ruling, Akintayo declared their marriage dissolved.

She placed her only child in the defendant’s custody while the plaintiff was allowed access to her.

The claimant was required to be responsible for the maintenance of their child, giving priority to feeding, education and health care.