71-year-old man divorces wife over “frequent death threats”
A 71-year-old man has successfully divorced his wife for frequently threatening to be one that will kill him.
Jimoh Bankole, a retired civil servant had turned to an Abeokuta Grade 1 Customary Court for reprieve.
He told the court his 13-year-old marriage to Oluwaranti which had produced a 12-year-old child had also been unpleasant.
“My wife is very troublesome. She will fight me, fight the neighbours around and she had frequently threatened that she would be the one to kill me.
“I have reported her to her family members, but she would not change; all my efforts proved abortive.
“Please, I beg the court to dissolve our marriage and grant me the custody of my child so that I can have a rest of mind,” he said.
In her response, Oluwaranti, who resides at Saraki Adigbe area in Abeokuta, denied all the allegations against her.
She rather accused Bankole of not taking care of her and her child.
“I don’t usually fight him as he said; I only do complain if he provokes me.
“He also does not care about me or my daughter.
“Before we came to the court, I begged him, but he refused; if dissolution is, therefore, what he wants, then there is no problem,” she said.
Oluwaranti, however, prayed the court to grant her the custody of her child.
While dissolving the marriage, the president of the court, Mr Olalakan Akande, observed that the love between the estranged couple had broken down irretrievably.
Akande dissolved the 13-year-old marriage and ordered that both parties were free to remarry anybody of their choice.
He, however, awarded the custody of the child to the defendant, Oluwaranti, noting that the said child has health challenges which need motherly care.
The president jointly committed both parties to take care of the schooling, medical expenses, feeding and other expenses of the child.
Meanwhile, Bankole had voluntarily promised to be paying N5,000 monthly as upkeep allowance of their only child..
