‘My wife beats me regularly’

A 75-year-old herbalist, Ramon Adejare, on Thursday, told an Abeokuta Customary Court Grade II that his wife, Ramota, had turned him into a punching bag in his home. 

Adejare told the court that they had been married for four years, with a three-year-old child.  

The appellant, who sought the dissolution of the marriage on grounds of frequent fighting, provocation and threats to life, said the situation in their matrimonial home had become worrisome.

He alleged that Ramota used to beat him at the slightest provocation and that she always fought with everyone in their neighbourhood. The situation, he said, had forced them to change accommodation in many occasions.  
He further said that he had dragged his wife to the police station on several occasions as a result of her unbecoming attitude.  

“Ramota will not stop at beating me at home; she fights everyone in our neighbourhood and because of her behaviour, we had been ejected from four different apartments,” he said. 

“I have never seen someone who is as stubborn as Ramota in my life; I think she wants to kill me and I must act fast to stop her from accomplishing her mission.”

Adejare, who pleaded with the court to save his life, therefore, sought for the dissolution of the four-year-old union.

Reacting, Ramota, 38, denied Ramon’s claims that she fights regularly with everyone in their neighbourhood, but admitted beating her husband during domestic scuffles.“It is true that I beat him; when two persons fight, it is natural that one will be more powerful than the other; this is the case my lord,’’ she told the court.

She said that they were living in peace until her husband decided to marry another wife, a development which she said led to their disagreement and frequent fighting.

In his judgment, the President of the court, Ishola Fajebe, said that it was evident that the union had hit the rocks.Ishola, who expressed disappointment with the inability of the court to reconcile the estranged couple, dissolved the marriage accordingly and granted the custody of the child to Ramota. 

He ordered Adejare to be paying N3, 000 monthly to the courts' registry beginning from July 5, for the upkeep of the child.The judge also warned them to maintain peace, and said that anyone who acted contrary to the judgment would be prosecuted.
Source