Wife seeks divorce over alleged forced marriage

A housewife, Jecinta Eyisi, 28, on Thursday pleaded with an Ojo Customary Court to dissolve her 11-year-old marriage to her husband, Ebele, because her mother compelled her into the marriage.

Jecinta told the court that she could no longer bear the marriage to Ebele, a trader, who was more than 20 years older than her.

“I cannot continue with the marriage because I never loved him, it was my mother that forced me to marry him. She said that she would take her life if I refused.

“As it is, I need this divorce quickly because I cannot continue to suffer in silence. After 11 years of bondage, I no longer care what happens to my mum,’’ she told the court.

She told the court that her five children, four boys and a girl, would not be a setback to her happiness, saying they would rather share the custody of the children.

“I am appealing to this court to impress on my husband to grant me custody of the twin boys and my only girl as I am capable of taking care of their needs,’’ she said.

Jecinta noted that the four years old twins were too young for her to release to her husband, adding that the husband was insensitive to their family needs.

She pleaded with the court to quicken the divorce process so that she could formalise her travel documents for her business as he failed to send her to school as earlier promised.

The husband, however, told the court that his wife developed her recent attitude following her interaction with bad peer groups who deceived her to leave him.

“My wife joined bad friends who were not married and they deceived her to shift to another man. As I speak, she has given birth for another man I do know and that is why she wants to divorce me.

“She left me two years ago because my business was no longer stable like before when I married her in 2004, then we had our traditional wedding and later church wedding in 2005,” Ebele said.

Ebele told the court that he would not grant custody of the twin boys to the wife because she was already in the hands of another man who was unknown to him.

“I can only allow her to take our only girl child. After all she has promised to return my dowry of N5,100 I paid to her parents when I married her,’’ he said.

The President of the court, Chief Joseph Ogunmola, advised the couple to maintain peace as the case was in court.

Ogunmola adjourned the case till Aug. 17, for judgment.