Court dissolves 12 year-old marriage for lack of love, long separation

December 20, 2019

By Ijendu Iheaka

An Aba-la-Ohazu Customary Court in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia has dissolved the marriage between one Emeka Emeodi and his wife Ijeoma on grounds of lack of love, long separation, and irreconcilable differences.

 Ijeoma the petitioner told the court that her husband had caused her much pain and emotional trauma and made her the laughing stock of the locality where they co-habited.

She said that they got married in December 2005 according to the native law and custom of Ndimbara Umuko, Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State.

However, in 2014, as Ijeoma narrated, her husband, Emeka and his family drove her away from her matrimonial home and since then she has been living apart from her husband.

She said that since that time, Emeka had continuously frustrated her life by shutting down her three shops and forcefully collecting her three vehicles including a Toyota Venza Jeep.

She also said that he wrote to Nigerian Law School and stopped her Call to Bar since 2015 and had with police arrested her seven times and paraded her before people as a common criminal. 

She said Emeka insisted that she must stop her university education four months to graduation, relinquish her land title documents to him, and quit her businesses to become a full house wife if the marriage must stand. 

She further said that her marriage with him was dead and over, being marred by extreme cruelty, threat to life, merciless abuse, degradation of her womanhood and dignity and battering.

Ijeoma therefore urged the court to dissolve the marriage, give her custody of her first son who Emeka, her husband said DNA evidence showed was not his.

She also prayed the court to order him to collect his N60.00 (sixty Naira) bride price at the Court Registry.

Emeka, through a counter petition said Ijeoma blackmailed him into marrying her with a pregnancy which DNA test showed was not his and caused his pastor to ask him to marry her.

He admitted in evidence that their first son was not his blood child although he prayed the court to refuse granting Ijeoma’s request to dissolve the marriage.

In his ruling, the presiding Senior       Magistrate, Diamond Olewengwa said that evidences before him showed the parties had consented to the dissolution of their union in one way or the other.

 He said that the marriage having broken down irretrievable because of lack of love, long separation, incompatibility and irreconcilable differences stands dissolved.

He ordered the petitioner to return N10, 000 bride price Emeka paid to him through the Court Registry and also gave custody of their first child to Ijeoma.

Olewengwa gave custody of their two younger children to Emeka and said that both parties were free to see the children during holidays adding that Ijeoma was free to revert to her maiden name, Akabogu.

The magistrate said the parties were free from all encumbrances to marry any other persons of their choice and urged them to maintain the peace as they go their separate ways.