Court dissolves 15-year-old marriage over alleged threat of money ritual

Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan on Thursday dissolved a 15-year-old marriage between a businesswoman, Fatima Akinpelu and Azeez, on grounds that he wants to use his wife for money ritual.

Delivering judgment, Chief Ademola Odunade, the court’s President held that there was no need for Akinpelu and Azeez to continue to live together as a couple because they might harm each other.

Odunade consequently granted custody of the 14-year-old child Akinpelu and ordered Azeez to pay N5,000 as monthly feeding allowance.

The arbitrator also ordered the respondent to pay adequate attention to the child’s education and other basic needs.

Earlier in her account, Akinpelu, told the court that she filed the suit because she was afraid of her husband

“My husband is fetish. I soaked my period underwear in a bucket and it disappeared. Azeez was the only person who had access to the bucket.

“My lord, he told me that he threw my underwear in the bush. But my investigation showed that he washed off the blood stained area and threw out the underwear. He is also an irresponsible man who does not care for his child.

Azeez consented to the suit, but denied the allegations leveled against him.

Azeez, a spareparts dealer said: “ I am a man of God. I have nothing to gain from using Fatima for any ritual.

“Besides, she is wayward and cannot be trusted,’ he said.

“When I  saw the underwear she soaked, I was disgusted and I threw the content into the bush opposite our house because I  wanted to use the bucket,” he said.